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MUSINGS  MAXIMS 

FOOD  FOR  THOUGHT 


1  Genius  does  not  need  Talent,  Enaudi,  famous  cal- 
culator, never  studied  mathematics.  (He  told  me  so.) 
Talent  is  acquired.     Genius  is  the  gift  of  God. 


2     Ideals  are  innate  not  acquired. 


3     Where  there  is  aptitude  for  the  Violin,  the  person- 
ality will  manifest  itself  naturally. 


4     Science  and  Art  are  not  Sisters.     Mathematical  cal- 
culations are  not  Art. 


5  Great  Masters  of  Harmony  and  great  Fuguists  are 
often  mediocre  composers.  Science  and  Inspiration, 
combined,  produced  the  great  works. 

6  Technic  can  be  reasoned,  but  must  be  acquired 
physically. 


7     Memory  pertains  to  the  Mind;  and  must  be  trained 
by  exercising  the  brain  when  very  young. 


8  The  success  of  a  player  depends  on  something  not 
taught  by  books,  namely  the  personal  conception 
and  inspiration  of  the  artist. 

9  In  Violin  playing  the  left  hand  is  only  the  workman, 
the  mechanic.  The  right  hand,  the  bow  arm,  is  the 
artist.  It  is  through  the  right  arm  that  the  virtuoso 
can  give  polish  to  the  Technic,  color  to  the  inter- 
pretation, and  expression  to  the  inspiration  of  the 
moment. 

10  Michael  Angelo  said:      "Who  acquires  the  habit  of 
following  will  never  lead." 

1 1  Be  yourself. 


N.  B. — Regarding  these  maxims  in  connection  with  a  life  devoted 
to  music,  1  venture  to  say,  vk'ithout  self- exaltation,  that  the  study  of 
them  will  not  only  prove  beneficial  to  artists  but  to  everyone,  more  so 
indeed,  than  any  book  written  about  the  violin's  mastery.  ^ 

OVIDE  MUSIN. 


MY  MEMORIES 


<^^.  ==^ 


MY  MEMORIES 


BY 

OVIDE  MUSIN 

Fonndei  of  the  Belgian   School  of  Violin  in  New  York,  1908; 

Officer  of  the  Beleian    "Order  of  Leopold;"  Commander 

of   the    "Order    of    Nitham    Iftikar"    (French); 

Officer   d'Academie    (France);  Ordre  da 

Merite    (Holland);    Officer    of    the 

Order  of  the  Bolivar  (South 

America),  etc. 


A  HALF-CENTURY  OF  ADVENTURES  AND 
EXPERIENCES  AND  GLOBE  TRAVEL 

WRITTEN   BY   HIMSELF 


NEW  YORK 

MUSIN  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

51  West  76th  Street 

\9Z0 


Copyright,  1920 
By  OVIDE  MUSIN 


(lift     $-/    L\A    imuu^    /Uifiuau 


I  / 


J*\ 


TO  MY  WIFE 
ANNIE  LOUISE  HODGES-MUSIN 


^)i)''d^^  i  i> 


INTRODUCTION 

Many  of  my  friends  have  said  to  me  frequently,  "  You 
who  have  traveled  so  much  and  have  made  so  many 
people  happy  by  your  music,  why  do  you  not  write  your 
experiences?  They  would  assuredly  be  of  interest  not 
only  to  artists  but  to  the  public  in  general."  Thus  urged 
I  decided  to  write  this  book,  simply  as  a  raconteur  with 
a  pretty  good  memory,  and  tell  as  succinctly  as  possible 
in  an  unpretentious  way  some  of  the  phases  of  my  ar- 
tistic life,  impressions,  episodes  and  reminiscences,  com- 
prised in  a  career  of  upwards  of  fifty  years. 

My  letters  to  the  paper  "  La  Meuse  "  of  Liege,  Bel- 
gium :  my  diary  kept  from  time  to  time  when  visiting 
new  countries,  and  my  lectures  on  the  History  of  the 
Violin,  given  in  French  and  English,  have  been  a  great 
help  to  me  in  writing  these  "  Memories." 

OVIDE  MusiN. 

New  York  Dec.  25th  19 19. 

Note 

The  fac-simile  of  the  autographic  letter  of  Leopold  II 
of  Belgium  to  his  sister  Charlotte,  Empress  of  Mexico, 
dated  1866,  which  appears  on  page  268  was  nearly  pro- 
phetic of  the  war  of  191 4,  and,  had  this  Monarch  been 
alive  at  the  time,  it  is  possible  that  the  war  would  not 
have  taken  place;  for  his  advice  was  listened  to  by  every 
Monarch  of  Europe,  and  in  fact  Leopold  II  was  called 
"  The  Diplomat  of  Europe." 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     Early  Life i 

II     First  Consciousness  of  Music 9 

Eugene  Ysaye 15 

Cesar  Thomson 16 

Rouma,  the  Remarkable  Violonist 17 

III  An   Experience  in   England 20 

IV  Anecdotes 24 

Siegel  Program 2^ 

Ostend 28 

Trio  Humoristic 32 

When  I  First  Heard  Vieuxtemps 35 

V     My  Entrance  Into  Paris 37 

Jean  Faure 51 

VI     Engagement  with  Colonel  Mapleson      ...  58 

Leonard  at  Liege.  1870.     Some  Pupils      ...  60 

House  Warming  in  Rue  Jacob,  No.  28,  Paris     .  62 

Brindis  de  Salas 65 

Experience  in  a  Balloon 66 

Two    Disagreeable    Experiences,   of    My    Early 

Life  in  Paris 68 

Early  Incident  in  Paris  Life 70 

VII    "  Carmen  " 71 

France,   1878 74 

French  Authors ^7 

A  Near  Fiance 78 

ix 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VIII     England 80 

Arrigo   Boito 86 

Harrison  &  Harrison  Concerts.     Patti  Incident  .  91 

London  About  1880 92 

England  and  the  Englisli  Language     ....  94 

IX     Incident  in  Copenhagen,  Denmark    ....     96 

Touring  in  Russia 99 

Concerts  in  Germany 103 

X    How  I  Came  to  America 105 

My  Impressions  of  America — New  York     ,      .  105 

German  Music  Lovers 118 

Singers,  with  Whom  I  was  Associated  in  Eu- 
rope and  the  U.  S 128 

XI     Some  Odd  Experiences 137 

Fargo 138 

Kansas  City 139 

San  Francisco 140 

XII     Westward 143 

First  Letter  to  La  Meuse 143 

Second  Letter  to  La  Meuse 151 

Third  Letter  to  La  Meuse  —  Appeared  July  29, 

1892  —  New  Zealand 158 

Fourth  Letter.     Wellington 162 

Fifth  Letter  to  La  Meuse  —  Wellington  .      .      .   164 

Sixth  Letter  to  La  Meuse 168 

Seventh  Letter  —  New  Zealand 174 

XIII  Australia 184 

Eighth  Letter  —  October  i6th,  1892    .      .      .     .184 
Sydney  and  Environs 186 

XIV  Mexico 191 

XV     Japan 211 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVI     Shanghai 220 

Manila 225 

Singapore 227 

XVII    Java 230 

The  Baraboedoer  Temple 232 

XVIII     Australia  Again 244 

XIX    Homeward   Bound 252 

XX     Return  to  Belgium 260 

Concerts  of  Dumont  Lamarche  Fund  ....  265 

Doutrelon  de  Try 267 

Letter  of  Leopold  II. 

XXI    Violinist  Reflections 271 

Paganini 273 

Belgian  School  of  Violin  Playing 275 

Some  Historical  Facts 275 

The  Belgian  School  of  Violin 277 

My   Ten    Commandments    for   Young   Aspiring 

Violin    Students 278 

Essentials 279 

The  Violin 279 

The  Bow 281 

Felix  Renard's  Berceuse 284 

Misleading  Advertisements 287 

XXII     Agreeable  Recollection 288 

Cardinal  Mercier's  Reception 289 

Albert,  King  of  Belgium 292 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Ovide  Musin Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Nandrin  Village 9 

Musin  at  14  years  of  age 12 

Statue  of  Gretry  at  Liege 17 

Trio  Humoristique 33 

First  letter  of  Saint-Saens 50 

Groupe  of  Five  Artists 98 

Queen  Liliukalani 147 

Two  Maori  women 164 

Sr.  James  Nuno 204 

Temple  of  Baraboedoer,  Java 232 

Statue  of  Charlemagne,  at  Liege 260 

Concert  Hall  of  the  Royal  Conservatory  of  Liege     .      .      .  262 

Class  of  Musin  pupils  at  Liege 264 

Doutrelon  de  Try  and  wife 267 

Letter  of  Leopold  II 268 

Mrs.  Ovide  Musin 270 

Henri  Leonard  with  his  music  and  signature 278 

Second  letter  of  Saint-Saens 282 

Class  of  New  York  pupils 287 

Ole  Bull  and  Miss  Doremus 293 


xm 


MY  MEMORIES 

WRITTEN  BY  MYSELF 
CHAPTER  I 

EARLY    LIFE 

In  1799,  William  Cockerill,  an  English  mechanical 
inventor,  settled  in  Belgium  as  a  manufacturer  of  spin- 
ning and  weaving  machines.  His  son  John  joined  him 
there  later  and  through  his  own  industry  and  the  help  of 
William  I,  King  of  the  Netherlands,  founded  in  181 7  the 
great  iron  works  of  Seraing.  Cockerill  and  William  ist 
were  joint  owners  of  these  foundries  for  thirteen  years, 
when  in  1830  John  Cockerill  purchased  the  King's  share 
and  became  sole  proprietor.  My  father,  who  was  an 
engineer,  was  employed  by  this  company  for  many  years, 
first  in  Belgium  and  later  in  the  south  of  France,  but 
finally,  wishing  to  retire  perhaps  into  a  less  active  occupa- 
tion, he  returned  to  Belgium,  built  a  house  in  the  village 
of  Nandrin,  in  the  Province  of  Liege,  and  set  himself  up 
as  a  merchant  of  grain  and  wine. 

My  father  was  born  at  Avins  near  Huy,  Province  of 
Liege,  but  it  is  probable  that  he  settled  at  Nandrin  be- 
cause it  was  only  three  miles  from  the  castle  of  Sothrez 
in  which  my  mother  was  born.  In  former  days,  the  de 
Milles,  which  was  my  mother's  maiden  name,  were  an 
important  family  in  these  parts,  my  grandmother  having 
even  a  private  chapel  attended  by  all  the  peasants  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  it  is  likely  that  Nandrin  appealed  to 


2  MY  MEMORIES 

them  as  being  the  nearest  town  to  my  mother's  old  home. 
I  was  born  at  Nandrin,  on  the  22nd  of  September,  1854. 

I  was  the  youngest  of  five  children,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  eldest,  we  were  all  born  in  the  house  which  my 
father  built  at  Nandrin.  We  were  a  comfortable  provin- 
cial family,  stoutly  clad  and  shod,  well  fed,  but  with  the 
frugal  habits  one  finds  in  all  old  countries.  We  had  what 
we  needed  but  no  more.  There  was  no  waste  and  as  the 
children  grew  up  they  were  expected  to  help  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  household  or  other  family  labors,  until 
old  enough  to  find  outside  occupations.  This  was  so 
everywhere  in  Belgium,  except  in  the  richest  families. 
Money  was  so  hard  to  make  that  all  must  help  in  trying 
to  make  it.  On  the  farms  the  daughters  worked  at  the 
churn,  and  took  the  butter  to  market  with  the  eggs  of  the 
chickens  and  pigeons.  Sometimes  they  helped  in  the 
fields,  the  sons  always.  All  labored  together  for  the  com- 
mon good.  In  this  country,  the  United  States,  it  seems 
to  me,  the  children  of  the  farmers  often  think  themselves 
above  farm  work,  often  the  farmers  seem  to  think  so  too, 
and,  in  consequence,  their  money  goes  for  piano  lessons 
and  for  the  purchase  of  cheap  automobiles.  No  one 
would  dream  of  indulging  in  extravagances  of  this  kind 
in  Belgium.  Indeed,  farming  there  is  considered  im- 
possible without  a  large  family  of  sons  and  daughters,  as, 
if  it  were  necessary  to  hire  labor  it  would  be  too  difficult 
to  make  it  pay. 

I  remember  being  caught  one  day  in  a  sudden  storm.  I 
was  still  a  young  lad  and  was  so  absorbed  in  my  occupa- 
tion of  the  moment,  the  catching  of  trout,  that  I  did  not 
notice  its  approach  until  a  sudden  growl  of  thunder  and 


EARLY  LIFE  '3 

a  gust  of  cool  wind  caused  me  to  look  up.  The  storm, 
with  its  dense  masses  of  heavy  clouds,  was  almost  upon 
me,  and,  picking  up  my  fish,  I  began  to  run  toward  a 
farm  house  which  stood  on  the  other  side  of  the  field. 
It  came  so  quickly  that  I  had  barely  reached  the  house 
when  torrents  of  rain  began  to  fall.  My  own  concern 
was  simply  to  avoid  a  drenching,  and  I  was,  therefore, 
amazed  to  witness  the  despair  to  which  the  storm  had 
reduced  the  family  with  whom  I  had  sought  shelter. 
They  were  on  their  knees,  weeping  bitterly  and  praying 
that  their  crops  might  be  spared.  If  it  brought  hail,  and 
that  was  what  they  feared,  it  might  mean  the  total  ruin 
of  the  result  of  many  months  of  labor.  Each  felt  this 
equally,  young  and  old,  of  both  sexes,  because  all  had 
done  their  part,  and  it  made  me  understand,  young  as  I 
was,  precisely  how  they  felt ;  that  with  all  their  unremit- 
ting toil,  their  shrewd  industry,  they  were  after  all  de- 
pendent for  success  on  the  fortuitous  circumstances  of 
nature.  The  hail  did  not  come,  I  am  glad  to  say,  and 
their  crops  were  spared. 

But  although  all  work  hard,  once  a  year,  for  three  days 
during  the  month  of  October,  a  fete  is  held  in  which  the 
whole  countryside  takes  part.  The  usual  regimen  of 
bread  and  cheese  is  abandoned  and  tarts  are  baked  — 
tarts  of  plums,  of  apples,  of  rice  and  eggs,  tarts  of 
every  description ;  a  fair  is  held.  The  young  men  have 
saved  money  during  the  year  to  spend  on  their  sweet- 
hearts and  the  sweethearts  have  saved  some  too,  to  spend, 
I  am  afraid,  on  themselves.  There  are  games,  dancing 
and  music.  One  of  my  earliest  recollections,  I  must  have 
been  very  young,  is  of  listening  entranced  on  one  of  these 


4  MY  MEMORIES 

occasions,  to  the  music  of  an  "  orgue  de  barbaric  ''  or, 
as  it  is  popularly  called,  a  hurdy  gurdy.  The  first  I  had 
ever  heard. 

We  had,  as  I  remember,  not  too  many  pastimes,  but  one 
which  I  indulged  in  whenever  opportunity  offered,  and 
which  I  still  enjoy,  was  that  of  fishing.  There  were  a 
number  of  small  streams  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nan- 
drin  which  contained  trout,  and  I  have  caught  many  of 
them,  some  weighing  as  much  as  two  pounds,  not  with  a 
rod,  for  at  that  time  I  had  never  seen  one,  but  with  my 
bare  hands.  I  knew  the  pools  where  the  trout  were  to  be 
found,  and  creeping  cautiously  to  the  edge  of  one,  behind 
a  screen  of  grass,  I  would  wait  until  a  fish  came  within 
reach,  when  I  would  begin  very  gently  to  tickle  its  belly, 
working  up  gradually  toward  the  head,  when  I  would 
seize  it  suddenly  with  all  my  might  and  throw  it  on  the 
bank. 

Not  many  years  ago  I  paid  a  visit  to  Nandrin.  I  could 
find  very  few  of  the  neighbors  I  had  known  before,  but 
the  village  priest,  now  an  old  man,  was  still  there  in  his 
little  house  close  to  the  church,  where  as  an  altar  boy  I 
had  served  mass,  swung  the  censer  and  poured  the  wine. 
He  greeted  me  with  real  joy  and  announced  that  I  must 
dine  with  him,  adding  ruefully,  after  a  moment,  "  But 
there  is  no  fatted  calf  to  kill.  Monsieur,  I  am  sorry  to 
say !  "  Then  a  thought  struck  him,  "  You  who  used  to 
catch  trout  so  skillfully,  do  you  think  that  you  could 
catch  one  now  ?  " 

I  answered  that  I  would  do  my  best,  and  going  out 
with  him  to  a  stream  which  ran  close  behind  the  vicarage, 
I  rolled  up  my  sleeves  and  began  to  creep  toward  the  edge 


EARLY  LIFE  5 

of  the  pool  which  I  had  chosen  for  my  operations.  I  was 
not  as  slender  as  on  my  last  fishing  expedition  thirty  years 
or  more  before,  the  recumbent  position  which  I  used  to 
assume  without  a  thought  seemed  strangely  uncomfort- 
able, breathing  was  not  easy,  and  I  was  sure  that  I  was 
in  momentary  danger  of  a  rush  of  blood  to  the  head. 
But  I  persevered  and  within  ten  minutes  had  landed  a 
fine  trout  weighing  a  pound  and  a  half.  We  had  it  for 
dinner  with  a  hot  butter  sauce  sprinkled  with  chopped 
green  herbs,  cold  meat,  bread  and  cheese,  salad,  and  a 
bottle  of  fine  old  Burgundy  —  a  meal  fit  for  a  king. 

So  my  first  recollection  indicating  any  especial  love 
for  or  appreciation  of  music,  aside  from  the  incident  of 
the  hurdy  gurdy  at  the  fair,  had  to  do  with  a  small  toy 
violin  which  my  father  gave"  me  at  Christmas.  I  was 
about  six  at  the  time.  My  interest  in  this  instrument  was 
so  pronounced  and  so  sustained  that  it  attracted  my 
father's  attention,  and  a  little  later  he  bought  me  a  larger 
one.  I  derived  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  from  manipulat- 
ing it  as  well  as  I  could,  but  I  soon  realized  that  I  must 
in  some  way  acquire  the  rudiments  of  the  art  before  I 
could  accomplish  anything  at  all  with  it.  The  problem 
of  where  to  discover  a  teacher  in  a  place  as  small  as 
Nandrin  was  not  easy,  but  I  thought  at  last  of  an  old 
man,  the  village  cobbler,  who  sometimes  helped  to  make 
up  a  small  orchestra,  recruited  from  neighboring  towns, 
for  the  purpose  of  playing  at  dances.  The  cobbler 
played  double  bass.  In  the  shop  of  this  old  man  I  re- 
ceived my  first  lessons,  the  cobbler  cobbling  while  I  stood 
before  him  with  my  violin,     He  taught  me  the  first  notes 


6  MY  MEMORIES 

and  how  to  tune  the  vioHn,  and  with  this  equipment,  I 
taught  myself  to  play  by  ear. 

As  I  became  more  proficient,  I  grew  more  attached  to 
my  violin,  and  devoted  more  and  more  time  to  it,  some- 
times perhaps  to  the  annoyance  of  my  family,  for  as  it 
was  not  a  small  one  and  as  the  time  I  had  formerly  spent 
out  of  doors  was  now  taken  up  indoors  in  practice,  I  was 
probably  often  in  the  way. 

It  was  an  effort  to  obviate  this  difficulty  perhaps  which 
resulted  in  my  frequently  playing  my  violin  sitting  on  the 
floor  under  the  table  which  stood  in  the  center  of  the  big 
front  room  of  the  house.  By  this  arrangement,  I  was  in 
nobody's  way  and,  as  I  was  only  seven,  the  space  under  it 
was  quite  large  enough. 

One  day,  a  professor  of  the  violin  who  lived  in  Liege, 
but  who  happened  to  be  in  our  village,  heard,  in  passing 
the  open  windows  of  our  living-room,  the  notes  of  a  violin 
issuing  therefrom.  The  windows  opened  directly  on  the 
street,  and  as  he  glanced  in  he  was  surprised  to  see  that 
there  was  no  one  in  the  room.  Except  for  the  musical 
notes  which  filled  it  the  room  was  empty.  The  professor 
of  the  violin,  naturally  surprised  at  this  phenomenon, 
thrust  his  head  in  at  the  window  and  looked  cautiously 
about,  only  to  find  the  mystery  more  insoluble  than  ever. 
The  notes  sounded  louder  and  more  distinct  than  before, 
but  of  the  player  there  was  not  a  trace,  and  he  was  be- 
ginning to  fear  that  he  was  the  victim  of  some  form  of 
mental  derangement,  when  my  mother  happened  to  enter 
the  room,  and  after  a  word  of  explanation,  made  the 
matter  clear  by  lifting  a  corner  of  the  table  cloth  and 
revealing  myself  fiddling  away  behind  it. 


EARLY  LIFE  7 

This  incident  had  an  important  bearing  on  my  future, 
for  the  professor,  insisting  on  hearing  me  again,  under 
conditions  savoring  less  of  the  supernatural,  liked  my 
playing  well  enough  to  advise  my  father  to  give  me  a 
musical  education.  The  professor's  praise  finally  re- 
sulted in  my  going  to  Liege  with  my  father  to  attend  the 
examination  of  candidates  who  wished  to  enter  the  Con- 
servatoire. My  family  had  arrived,  by  this  time,  at  a 
tentative  decision.  I  was  to  go  to  Liege  and  play  before 
the  judges.  If  my  application  was  refused,  there  was  no 
more  to  be  said  for  the  present  at  any  rate.  It  would  be 
time  enough  to  decide  definitely  in  case  I  should  be  ac- 
cepted. That  spring  therefore,  a  very  frightened,  small 
boy,  standing  in  the  Examination  Hall  in  the  Conserva- 
toire at  Liege,  before  a  small  company  of  judges  and  ap- 
plicants, played  a  composition  of  his  own.  The  small 
boy  was  myself, —  the  composition  which  I  played  secured 
my  admission,  and  my  parents  found  that  they  must 
decide  definitely  whether  I  was  to  enter  or  not. 

Since  I  have  come  to  know,  later  in  life,  what  difficul- 
ties young  aspirants  for  careers  in  any  of  the  arts  often 
have  to  overcome  in  the  way  of  family  opposition,  I  am 
more  thankful  than  I  was  then  that  every  member  of  mine 
had  a  genuine  love  of  music.  And  yet,  as  was  natural, 
when  my  parents  finally  determined  to  follow  the  pro- 
fessor's advice,  their  decision  was  mixed  with  a  good 
deal  of  apprehension  at  the  idea  of  my  leaving  home, —  I 
was  eight  at  the  time  —  and  to  live  in  so  distant  a  place 
as  Liege,  fully  twelve  miles  away.  My  mother  indeed,  at 
first,  felt  that  she  could  not  consent  to  such  a  scheme,  and 
it  was  only  on  my  father's  discovering  that  a  friend  of 


8  MY  MEMORIES 

his  who  kept  a  small  but  very  good  hotel  there  would  be 
glad  to  take  me  under  his  care,  that  the  matter  was  finally 
settled. 

It  being  decided  to  send  me,  preparations  were  begun 
at  once.  The  village  tailor  made  me  a  suit  of  clothes. 
The  village  cobbler  abandoned  his  lessons,  and  fell  to 
fabricating  a  pair  of  shoes  for  me.  A  small  trunk  of 
yellow  tin  was  unearthed  and  packed  with  my  belongings, 
and  on  an  early  day  in  October,  my  father  and  I  climbing 
to  the  top  of  the  diligence,  began  our  journey  to  Liege. 

As  we  passed  out  of  the  village,  a  delicious  and  well- 
remembered  smell  floated  to  my  nostrils  —  the  smell  of 
baking  tarts;  tarts  of  plum;  of  apple;  of  eggs  and  rice. 
The  fete  was  to  begin  the  next  day  and  I  was  not  to  be 
there.  A  sudden  regret  assailed  me,  but  after  all,  what 
did  it  matter?  Had  I  not  become  a  man  of  the  world, 
destined  to  see  many  things  more  wonderful? 


X 


CHAPTER  II 

FIRST    CONSCIOUSNESS   OF   MUSIC 

The  awakening  of  my  consciousness  of  music  or,  in 
reality,  a  subconsciousness  of  the  charm  of  music  suffi- 
ciently tangible  to  enable  me  to  recall  my  impressions,  was 
in  connection  with  the  music  of  the  Church  and  that  of 
the  celebrations  of  the  Feast  Days  in  the  village  of 
Nandrin. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  picture,  the  village  church 
stood  as  you  face  it  just  to  the  right  of  my  father's  house, 
where  I  was  born,  and  it  was  there  that  I  learned  to  sing 
the  Latin  chants  and  responses  to  the  intoning  of  the 
priests  in  the  services  in  which  I  acted  as  altar  and  choir 
boy. 

I  must  have  had  a  pretty  fair  voice,  as  child  voices  go, 
and  been  able  to  carry  a  tune,  as  the  expression  goes,  or  I 
would  certainly  not  have  been  called  to  the  position.  I 
do  not  recall  that  I  ever  had  any  difficulty  in  learning  the 
music,  no  doubt  grasping  the  musical  idea  by  instinct,  or, 
if  you  will,  more  with  a  psychological  sense  than  in  any 
other  way. 

I  have  an  idea  that  even  at  an  early  age,  I  had  a  clear 
idea  as  to  pure,  free  tone  and  correct  intonation  for  very 
often  the  thick,  nasal  tones  of  the  priests,  badly  out  of 
tune,  were  either  quite  painful  to  me  or  suggested  ideas 
which  were  so  amusing  that  I  could  hardly  keep  my  face 
straight. 


10  MY  MEMORIES 

One  of  the  priests  sang  something  which  sounded  to 
me  more  hke  omelette  —  o  —  rum — fricandum  (Gigo- 
tum  Cressonem)  and  which,  at  early  mass,  aroused  my 
appetite  for  breakfast.  But  this  in  no  way  detracted 
from  my  reverence  for  the  holy  fathers  who  were  always 
most  kind  to  me.  Then,  on  the  Feast  Days,  I,  like  other 
children,  absorbed  the  music  of  the  folk-songs  and  the 
Cramignon. 

The  Cramignon  seems  to  be  peculiar  to  the  Province  of 
Liege  and  the  race  of  Walloons,  for  I  have  never  seen  it 
or  heard  of  it  in  any  other  country.  The  Cramignon  is 
not,  strictly  speaking,  a  country  dance,  but  more  properly 
a  march,  which  may  be  a  remnant  of  some  very  ancient 
religious  ceremony  dating  from  the  time  of  the  Druids. 
Relics  of  this  order  are  still  to  be  seen  around  Liege  in 
the  Dolmens  scattered  here  and  there. 

At  any  rate,  the  Cramignon  must  have  originated  in 
times  so  ancient  that  the  country  was  still  covered  with 
vast  extents  of  forests  where  the  Dolmens  were  erected 
and  the  people  worshipped  not  only  in  their  temples  but 
in  the  groves.  This  may  account  for  the  curious  serpen- 
tine windings  and  coilings  of  the  long  line  of  marchers  as 
they  twine  in  and  out  among  the  trees,  or  might  this 
peculiarity  be  traceable  in  any  sense  to  the  serpent? 

The  Cramignon  begins  in  this  way:  A  young  man, 
the  leader,  carries  a  bouquet  in  his  right  hand  and,  with 
his  left,  he  takes  the  right  hand  of  his  lady,  her  left  hand 
being  taken  by  the  gentleman  following,  and  so  on,  couple 
following  couple  as,  one  after  another,  they  join  in  the 
march  which  is  done  side-wise,  with  arms  extended. 

The  leader  starts  a  song,  singing  the  first  line,  which 


FIRST  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  MUSIC        n 

is  taken  up  and  repeated  by  the  marchers  in  chorus,  and 
so  on  during  the  whole  song  or  chant,  which  is  kept  up  as 
the  march  continues,  the  leader  sometimes  coiling  them 
into  a  solid  group  and  then  uncoiling  again,  twining  and 
turning  this  way  and  that  as  the  line  trails  its  way  through 
the  street,  until  all  are  quite  out  of  breath,  when  they 
disperse. 

We  all  learned  to  sing  the  Cramignon,  and  some  Bel- 
gian composers  have  taken  the  ancient  themes  and  woven 
them  into  compositions  of  real  merit.  Debefve  wrote  a 
Symphony  on  one  of  the  themes  which  was  pnoduced  at 
one  of  the  concerts  of  the  Royal  Conservatoire  of  Liege 
with  grand  orchestra. 

I  was  only  eight  years  old  when  I  left  my  home  in 
Nandrin  to  begin  my  studies  at  Liege.  But  it  was  not 
as  if  I  had  gone  out  into  the  world  alone.  The  Tourne- 
mont  family  with  whom  I  went  to  board  —  a  good  kindly 
people  —  were,  as  I  have  said,  friends  of  my  father's, 
and  it  was  there  the  stage  coach  stopped  in  going  to  and 
from  Nandrin.  My  father  came  very  often  to  the  ex- 
change in  Liege.  I  saw  him  once  or  twice  a  week,  and 
often  went  home  to  visit  my  mother.  The  inn  was  on 
the  quai  des  Pecheurs,  which  was  burned  by  the  German 
soldiery  in  their  passage  through  Liege  in  19 14.  The 
Germans  claimed  that  the  people  there  shot  at  the  soldiers, 
but  it  has  been  proven  that  it  was  not  true. 

I  often  used  to  watch  the  men  who  were  fishing  from 
the  quays.  This  was  in  one  of  the  most  ancient  parts  of 
the  city  near  the  oldest  bridge,  the  Pont  des  Arches. 
There  were  two  bridges  by  which  I  could  cross  the  Meuse 
in  going. from  where  I  was  living  to  the  Conservatoire. 


12  MY  MEMORIES 

The  nearest  was  the  Pont  Neuf.  But  it  was  a  toll  bridge 
and  one  had  to  pay  three  centimes,  either  way,  going  and 
returning,  thus  costing  six  centimes.  I  thought  the 
matter  over  carefully  and  decided  to  expend  this  amount 
to  my  personal  advantage,  instead  of  enriching  the  town 
of  Liege  to  that  extent.  I  walked  about  a  half  mile  down 
the  river  to  a  bridge  which  was  free  of  toll.  An  old 
lady  cake  vendor  was  established  near  this  bridge,  with 
her  little  stove  for  frying  the  cakes.  They  cost  just  three 
centimes  each,  and  I  regaled  myself.  And  as  I  embraced 
the  opportunity  every  time  I  crossed  to  the  other  side  of 
the  city,  both  the  old  lady  and  myself  were  mutually 
gratified.  Since  that  time  a  third  bridge  has  been  con- 
structed —  it  is  called  "  Passerelle,"  and  is  only  for 
pedestrians. 

I  never  had  time  to  play,  like  most  boys,  as  I  had  to 
learn  my  lessons  for  the  Conservatoire,  as  well  as  for 
school,  and  thus  I  was  at  work  most  of  the  time.  Later 
on,  when  I  studied  harmony,  quartette,  and  violin,  I  had 
to  get  up  very  early  in  the  morning  and  work  at  my  music 
before  going  to  school. 

In  order  to  provide  very  young  pupils  with  some  edu- 
cational advantages,  there  are  in  Liege  night  classes  for 
instruction,  outside  of  music,  so  that  the  daytime  could  be 
devoted  entirely  to  musical  study.  In  these  classes  four 
subjects  were  laid  down  as  essentials:  —  the  French 
language,  grammar,  literature,  history,  geography  and 
mathematics.  I,  however,  attended  the  Royal  Athenee, 
or  day  school  which  is  like  the  American  high  school, 
where  I  followed  only  three  branches:  —  French,  mathe- 
matics and  history,  each  session  being  of  one  hour  and 


OVIDE  MUSIN 
14  Years  of  Age 


FIRST  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  MUSIC        13 

each  with  a  different  professor,  as  well  as  the  Conserva- 
toire. This  arrangement  of  night  classes  for  artist  stu- 
dents was  a  fine  thing,  for  in  that  way  a  boy  could  get  a 
general  education  and  his  musical  education  at  the  same 
time.  In  the  United  States,  however,  no  such  provision 
is  made  for  artist  students.  Schooling  must  come  first, 
and  music  afterward,  as  best  it  can  —  which  explains 
why  there  are  not  as  many  American  artists  as  there  might 
be.  Our  Belgian  Government,  and  also  that  of  France 
appreciates  the  fact  that  to  become  an  artist  one  must 
have  the  chance  to  specialize  in  the  study  of  music  and 
his  chosen  instrument.  Altogether,  I  spent  nine  years 
at  Liege.  During  that  time  I  won  the  second  prize  — 
that  was  in  1867  —  in  1868  the  first  prize,  and  in  1869 
the  gold  medal  for  violin  and  quartette  playing. 

It  was  in  1870,  during  the  Franco-Prussian  war.  that 
Henri  Leonard,  the  celebrated  violin  virtuoso  and  peda- 
gogue, left  Paris  and  came  to  Liege,  where  he  was  ap- 
pointed head  of  the  violin  and  quartette  department  of 
the  Royal  Conservatory.  During  this  time  a  public  audi- 
tion was  arranged  for  Cesar  Thomson  and  myself.  I 
think  the  program  will  be  interesting.  Cesar  Thomson 
played. 

The  whole  Concerto  of  Mendelssohn,  Prelude  and 
Fugue  in  G  minor,  by  Bach,  for  violin  alone,  Seventh 
Quartette  in  F  major  by  Beethoven. 

I  played : — 

The  whole  Concerto  of  Beethoven  the  Chaconne  of 
Bach,  and  the  Quartette  of  Beethoven,  number  ten  (called 
the  Harp  Quartette). 


14  MY  MEMORIES 

The  seance  began  at  two  and  lasted  until  nearly  six; 
but  the  Salle  d'Emulation  was  crowded  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end.  I  have  just  heard  that  the  Salle 
d'Emulation  was  burned  by  the  Germans  in  19 14.  It 
was  in  that  Concert  Hall  that  Chopin,  Thalberg,  Tausig, 
Liszt,  Rubinstein,  Vieuxtemps,  Leonard,  Joachim,  Wieni- 
awski,  and  hundreds  of  others  have  appeared  in  Liege, 
and  where  I  gave  my  farewell  concert  in  1872. 

Among  the  students  who  entered  the  Conservatoire 
about  the  same  time  as  myself  were  boys  who  are  now 
very  well  known.  I  have  mentioned  Cesar  Thomson. 
Then  there  were  Martin  Marsick,  Eugene  Ysaye  and 
Guillaume  Remy  (now  of  the  Conservatoire  Nationale  at 
Paris)  and  some  others  even  more  talented  —  Simon 
Mauhin,  for  instance,  and  Lechat,  considered  a  genius. 
Lechat  died,  however,  before  graduation,  from  typhus 
fever.  His  remarkable  genius  was  admired  by  the  whole 
Conservatoire. 

Martin  Marsick,  the  great  violinist  virtuoso,  who  has 
traveled  as  soloist  in  America,  and  all  over  the  world, 
was  the  second  of  a  family  of  seventeen  children.  The 
father  was  a  cobbler.  The  mother  went  to  private 
houses,  as  a  scrub  woman,  picking  up  a  franc  here  and 
there  when  she  could.  The  oldest  of  the  family  was 
Louis  Marsick,  just  as  talented  as  his  brother.  But,  in 
order  to  bring  home  bread  as  soon  as  possible,  he  played 
his  violin  on  every  occasion, —  at  balls,  receptions,  and  in 
orchestras.  I  must  say  that  he  was  a  good  son  and 
brother,  for  he  devoted  himself  to  the  education  of  Martin 
and  the  comfort  of  the  family.  They  lived  in  a  small 
house,  in  Rue  Vertbois,  near  the  Church  of  St.  Jacques, 


FIRST  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  MUSIC        15 

one    of    the    oldest    churches    in    the    town    of    Liege 
(Thirteenth  Century). 

I  could  not  see  where  that  immense  family  could  all 
sleep,  in  so  small  a  house.  They  were  divided  into  two 
sections  for  their  meals.  When  the  first  "  bunch  "  had 
finished,  the  second  came  in,  for  the  room  downstairs  was 
not  big  enough  to  accommodate  them  all.  It  was  a  prob- 
lem that  I  could  not  solve,  that  on  such  a  small  income, 
such  a  large  family  could  be  brought  up,  and  all  kept  in 
good  health.  Martin,  the  virtuoso,  had  a  beautiful  voice. 
He  was  the  soprano  soloist  of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Paul, 
and  other  churches,  whenever  they  could  use  his  services. 
For  a  Mass  he  received  three  francs  (about  sixty  cents). 
So,  at  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  was  making  good  money 
and,  like  his  brother,  Louis,  bringing  home  all  his  earn- 
ings. But  to  bring  up  a  family  of  seventeen  children, 
and  that  means  nineteen  to  feed  —  this  still  remains  a 
problem  to  me ! 

Eugene  Ysaye 

Ysaye  and  I  were  at  the  Conservatoire  together  when 
we  were  boys,  and  we  had  our  second  prize  for  violin  the 
same  year — 1867  —  at  the  Salle  Gretry,  Liege.  I  lost 
two  bottles  of  champagne  because  I  bet  it  was  in  1866. 
But  in  1866  we  had  an  epidemic  of  the  cholera  in  the 
town  from  which  many  people  died.  The  Conservatoire 
decided  not  to  have  any  contest  that  year.  This  fact  I 
had  forgotten,  but  like  an  American,  I  paid  my  bet,  and 
enjoyed  the  champagne  just  the  same. 

Ysaye's  father  was  a  good  musician,  and  had  been  for 
many  years  the  conductor  of  the  orchestra  of  the  Pavilion 


i6  MY  MEMORIES 

de  Flore,  a  vaudeville  place  in  Liege,  where  the  students 
of  the  university  and  the  people  of  the  town  would 
come  and  enjoy  a  comic  song,  and  an  operetta.  Eugene 
and  I  were  at  the  same  stand,  and  this  was  my  first 
experience  in  an  orchestra.     I  was  fifteen  years  old. 

The  brother  of  Ysaye,  Theo  Ysaye,  was  also  a  very 
gifted  pianist,  and  composed  several  works  of  distinction. 

Cesar  Thomson 

His  father  was  a  cobbler,  in  the  Rue  des  Recollets, 
Liege.  Cesar  had  a  sister,  and  also  a  brother  who 
was  a  hunchback.  Besides  being  a  cobbler,  the  father 
played  double  bass  at  dances,  and  made  good  too,  every 
Sunday  with  his  instrument.  Thomson's  brother,  the 
hunchback,  was  a  good  musician,  and  very  witty.  I  wish 
I  had  a  penny  for  every  joke  of  his  that  made  one  laugh 
until  he  cried.  Cesar  Thomson,  too,  was  a  queer 
fellow,  with  ideas  of  his  own.  This  will  illustrate  him 
at  a  glance. 

Once,  going  in  a  boat  with  friends,  for  a  pleasure  trip 
on  the  river  Meuse,  he  said  to  them,  "  I  can  walk  on  the 
water  as  Jesus  did."  He  tried  it,  but  took  a  bath,  and  he 
was  lucky  that  his  friends  were  able  to  get  him  into  the 
boat  again.  He  left  Liege  to  be  concertmeister  to  Baron 
Derevis,  who  had  an  orchestra  in  his  castle  on  Lake 
Lugano.  (This  castle  has  been  purchased  by  Louis 
Lombard  of  Utica,  New  York.)  It  was  there  that  he 
met  the  young  Italian  lady  who  became  his  wife.  Baron 
Derevis  was  very  wealthy,  and  a  lover  of  music.  He 
had  his  own  orchestra  in  winter  at  his  castle  near  Nice, 
as  well  as  at  Lugano  in  the  summer.     Since  we  were  at 


FIRST  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  MUSIC        17 

the  Conservatoire  at  Liege,  in  the  class  of  Leonard,  the 
next  time  I  met  him  was  at  Nice,  in  1876.  I  was  then  a 
member  of  the  Jean  Faure  Concert  Company.  He  intro- 
duced me  to  his  wife,  a  very  pretty  lady,  and  I  compli- 
mented him  on  his  choice. 

But  I  found  that  he  had  some  very  queer  ideas.  For 
instance,  he  would  say  that  "  France  ought  to  have  less 
heart,  and  more  wisdom."  And  that  "  Corneille  was  a 
vile  courtier  of  Louis  XIV,"  and  so  on.  I  cannot  re- 
member all,  but  he  had  been  reading  Schopenhauer,  and 
endorsed  his  doctrines. 

RouMA,  THE  Remarkable  Violinist 

Rouma,  son  of  Auguste  Rouma  of  Liege,  that  revered 
teacher  of  Henri  Leonard,  to  whom  Leonard  dedicates 
his  celebrated  method  for  the  violin,  was  one  of  the  most 
interesting  musicians  of  Liege :  from  the  physiological 
point  of  view,  as  well  as  in  artistic  appearance ;  for  he 
seemed  to  be  Richard  Wagner  "  redivivus."  Small  of 
stature,  the  head  large  —  the  mask  both  in  profile  and 
full  view  being  the  counterpart  of  Wagner.  Rouma's 
home,  where  he  was  born  and  where  his  father  lived  be- 
fore him,  was  in  a  house  in  that  part  of  the  town 
nowadays  called  "  Vieux  Liege,"  with  solid  oak  floors, 
beams,  etc.,  quaintly  interesting.  Here  the  father  had 
amassed  a  wonderful  collection  of  old  manuscripts  and 
musical  instruments.  He  was  a  charming  old  gentleman, 
and  I  often  visited  him  to  hear  him  converse  about  old 
days,  and  see  his  collections.  He  lived  in  the  Rue 
Vertbois,  near  the  ancient  thirteenth  century  Church  of 
St.  Jacques. 


i8  MY  MEMORIES 

It  is  well  that  the  old  man  did  not  live  to  see  his  dear 
old  city  bombarded  by  the  Germans. 

Leonard's  dedication  of  his  didactic  works  to  Rouma's 
father,  Auguste  Rouma,  which  I  give  below,  shows  the 
delightful  sympathy  which  existed  in  most  cases,  between 
master  and  pupil,  in  my  time,  and  long  before.  He  says 
in  his  dedication  (translated  literally), 

"  To  my  master  and  friend,  Auguste  Rouma,  of  Liege. 
Receive,  my  dear  master,  this  affectionate  remembrance 
from  your  pupil.  In  writing  these  studies  for  young 
violinists,  I  have  often  thought  of  the  happy  days  of  my 
childhood,  and  of  the  paternal  counsels  thou  gavest  me, 
together  with  the  musical  instruction.  This  work  con- 
tains the  fruit  of  thine  experience,  united  to  mine.  May 
it  attain  the  object  I  proposed  in  writing  it. 

"  (Signed)     H.  Leonard." 

In  1872,  the  Franco-Prussian  war  being  ended, 
Leonard  resigned  his  position  at  the  Conservatoire,  and 
went  back  to  Paris.  He  had  advised  my  father  to  allow 
me  to  continue  my  musical  career.  To  that  end  it  was 
decided  that  I  should  go  to  Paris,  and  in  October  of  that 
year  I  gave  a  farewell  concert  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Governor,  and  of  the  Mayor  of  Liege.  This  concert  was 
a  great  success  financially,  and  I  cleared  over  two  thou- 
sand francs.  It  was  thus  that  I  was  launched  on  my 
artistic  life. 

But  it  was  while  I  was  still  at  Liege  that  I  made  my 
first  appearance  in  public  —  outside  of  the  public  exami- 
nation of  the  Royal  Conservatoire. 

I  remember  distinctly  I  was  about  twelve  years  old. 


FIRST  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  MUSIC        19 

The  concert  was  given  by  the  Fanfare  of  Gemeppes,  a 
town  quite  near  Seraing,  where  the  celebrated  John 
Cockerill  Steel  Works  are  located.  I  played  on  that  occa- 
sion the  Seventh  Concerto  of  de  Beriot.  About  forty 
years  after  I  met  on  the  street  in  Liege  the  Director  of 
that  Fanfare  which  still  existed.  I  told  him  that  in  view 
of  his  being  the  first  musical  society  to  introduce  me  in 
public,  any  time  he  might  require  my  service,  I  would  be 
at  his  disposal.  He  took  my  offer  up  at  once  and  ar- 
ranged a  concert  for  the  benefit  of  the  society.  The  hall 
could  not  contain  the  crowd,  and  needless  to  say  every- 
thing was  en  fete.  At  my  first  appearance  I  do  not  recall 
if  I  was  nervous,  but  later  on  in  life  I  found  that  every 
artist  suffers  more  or  less  from  nervousness  in  playing 
in  public. 

While  I  was  still  at  the  Conservatoire,  I  was  called  on 
sometimes  to  play  second  violin  in  a  quartette  headed  by  a 
wealthy  amateur  of  Liege.  And  the  mania  of  this 
amateur  was  the  tuning  of  his  violin.  He  usually  spent 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  with  someone  to  give  him  A  about 
a  hundred  times.  He  played  pretty  well,  but  for  one 
reason  or  another,  or  for  none  at  all,  he  would  stop  the 
playing,  and  say  —  "  Let  us  tune  up."  I  remember  that 
once  in  an  adagio  of  a  Haydn  Quartette,  which  was 
going  very  well  indeed,  he  stopped  the  piece,  broke  us  all 
off  short,  saying,  "  We  are  not  in  tune."  Then  every 
one  had  to  take  the  A  again,  and  thus  it  went.  This 
happened  a  long  time  ago,  but  it  was  so  striking  a  char- 
acteristic that  I  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  difficulty 
we  experienced  in  getting  through  even  one  movement, 
tiot  to  mention  a  whole  work. 


CHAPTER  III 

AN    EXPERIENCE    IN    ENGLAND 

In  the  summer  of  1870,  Cesar  Thomson  and  I  were 
playing  in  the  orchestra  at  Ostend  (always  a  fashionable 
watering  place),  and  among  the  pranks  we  young  fellows 
played  was  the  following.  Mr.  Bidlot,  the  engineer  of 
the  S.  S.  Marie  Antoinette,  plying  between  Ostend  and 
Dover,  and  a  Liegeois,  was  a  friend  of  ours,  and  to  our 
great  pleasure,  he  invited  us  to  make  the  trip  over  and 
back  free  of  cost.  We  decided  that  we  v^ould  avail 
ourselves  of  the  occasion  to  pretend  that  we  were  street 
musicians,  and  play  to  people  congregated  in  the  parks, 
and  in  imagination  we  could  see  the  astonishment  they 
would  manifest  at  discovering  violin  artists  in  disguise. 
A  great  joke  we  promised  ourselves.  The  program  was 
arranged  —  we  would  begin  with  the  duet  for  two 
violins  by  Leonard,  then  while  Thomson  passed  the  hat, 
I  would  play  the  Arpeggios,  for  the  violin  alone,  by 
Prume.  Thomson  would  then  take  my  place  and  play 
something  whilst  I  passed  the  hat  and  so  on.  As  we 
paid  for  our  rooms  at  the  Hotel  de  I'Univers  at  Ostend 
by  the  month,  we  ventured  to  ask  the  landlady  to  put  us 
up  a  basket  of  sandwiches  as  we  expected  to  be  gone  all 
day.  I  found  an  old  suit  of  clothes,  and  an  old  hat  and  a 
pair  of  shoes  with  holes  in  them,  and  Thomson  arrayed 
himself  in  equally  disreputable  habiliments,  and  when  we 

20 


AN  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND  21 

boarded  the  steamer  our  friend  the  engineer  scarcely 
recognized  us. 

We  got  to  Dover  about  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  at 
once  took  our  violins  out  of  their  boxes  and  started  from 
the  pier  for  the  town.  Not  far  from  the  pier  is  a  large 
square  and  we  started  playing  there.  Some  boys  gathered 
around  us  and  a  few  people  stopped  to  listen,  but  doubt- 
less being  in  a  hurry  they  did  not  stay  to  hear  the  end  of 
the  duet.  This  was  disheartening  and  I  told  Thomson 
that  open  air  concerts  did  not  seem  to  be  popular  in  Eng- 
land ;  but  Thomson,  still  undaunted,  proposed  that  we  try 
some  of  the  cafes ;  thinking  these  in  Dover  would  be  like 
ours  in  Belgium  with  tables  and  chairs  and  so  on. 
Farther  on  we  saw  a  place  which  we  took  to  be  a  cafe, 
but  when  we  got  inside  there  was  only  a  long  bar  with 
every  man  standing  as  he  drank,  with  a  lot  of  girls  behind 
the  bar  talking  to  the  men  and  serving  their  drinks. 

Once  more  we  started  our  famous  duet,  but  the  first 
few  notes  were  interrupted  with  "  No,  No,  no  music 
here,  gow  auwai,  gow  auwai,"  bawled  out  by  a  big  voice 
somewhere  in  the  rear  of  the  bar. 

This  meant  that  we  were  unmistakably  put  out  of  the 
place.  What  a  blow  to  our  visions  of  an  entranced 
populace  gratefully  pouring  guineas,  shillings,  and  six- 
pences, even  the  humble  tuppence  by  handfuls  into  the 
cap  held  out  by  Thomson  who  would  bow  gracefully  and 
smiling  sweetly  say,  *'  Merci,  Mesdames,  merci,  Mes- 
sieurs, merci,  merci."  Our  joke  was  most  decidedly  a 
boomerang,  which  hit  us  in  a  very  tender  spot,  i.e.,  our 
artistic  amour-propre.  Thoroughly  disgusted  as  to  the 
artistic  discernment  of  the  British  (when  taken  unawares, 


22  MY  MEMORIES 

at  any  rate),  we  went  back  to  the  boat  and  told  Mr.  Bidlot 
of  our  experience.  We,  figuratively  speaking,  would 
gladly  have  shaken  the  dust  of  Dover  from  our  feet 
(which  had  literally  sifted  into  our  shoes  through  the 
holes)  had  it  not  been  impossible  to  leave  immediately. 
The  hour  for  the  return  trip  was  not  until  eleven  at  night, 
and  to  pass  the  time  our  friend  the  engineer  took  us  to 
see  a  music  hall.  The  orchestra  at  this  place  consisted  of 
four  pieces,  one  piano,  one  double  bass,  one  clarinet  and  a 
fiddle.  Behind  the  orchestra,  seated  on  a  stool  high 
above  the  heads  of  the  public  was  a  man  with  a  hammer 
in  his  hand. 

His  business  was  to  announce  the  numbers  as  there 
were  no  programs,  to  act  as  prompter,  and  to  assist  in 
the  applause.  He  would  begin  by  making  a  noise  with 
his  hammer  to  attract  attention  and  then  say,  "  Mr. 
(or  Miss)  So  and  So  will  appear  next  and  sing  such  and 
such  a  song."  These  were  invariably  followed  by  a 
dance.  It  was  a  succession  of  songs  and  dances.  If 
the  artist  or  the  selection  was  a  favorite  with  the  public, 
the  public  would  applaud  by  stamping  with  their  feet,  the 
man  with  the  hammer  joining  in  with  his  tattoo. 

One  announcement  was,  "  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  Miss 
Almonte  will  appear  next  and  sing  '  White  Wings,'  " 
when  a  voice  from  the  crowd  growled  out,  "  She  can't 
sing,"  —  but  the  man  with  the  hammer  replied,  "  Never- 
theless, Miss  Almonte  will  sing  *  White  Wings.'  "  This 
was  all  so  strange  that  it  made  a  very  weird  impression 
on  us  boys  from  Liege.  To  find  everything  so  different 
in  a  country  just  across  the  channel,  and  such  weird 
music  too.     We  were  not  sorry  to  get  back  to  our  boat 


AN  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND  23 

which  had  waited  for  passengers  coming  from  London, 
on  their  way  across  the  channel,  to  catch  the  express  at 
Ostend  for  Brussels,  Liege,  Aix-la-Chapelle,  Cologne, 
and  perhaps  on  to  Berlin,  or  to  spend  some  time  in 
Ostend,  celebrated  for  its  beaches,  display  of  fashions, 
and  the  Ktirsaal,  with  its  orchestral  concerts. 

The  nice  basket  of  sandwiches  given  us  by  the  landlady 
of  the  Hotel  de  I'Univers  had  not  been  touched,  but 
on  the  boat  we  had  eaten  a  real  fried  sole  —  a  celebrated 
English  dish.  That  was  another  thing  to  be  remem- 
bered. Neither  Thomson  nor  I  did  much  talking,  when 
we  got  back  to  the  shelter  of  our  hotel,  but  I  am  certain 
his  private  reflections  were  similar  to  my  own,  i.e.,  that 
we  were  not  built  to  be  street  players. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ANECDOTES 

At  one  time  I  remember  hearing  of  four  amateurs 
who  were  playing  a  new  quartette  for  the  first  time,  and 
they  did  not  always  go  together.  In  the  first  part,  the 
'cellist,  seeing  the  viola  in  trouble,  whispered,  "  At  the 
pause,"  and  the  viola  said,  "  Already  ?  "  At  the  repeat 
the  same  trouble  occurred  again,  and  the  'cellist  whispered 
again,  "  At  the  pause."  But  this  time  the  viola  answered 
"  only  ?  "  I  heard  the  story.  I  am  glad  I  did  not  hear 
the  quartette. 

I  recall  an  experience  of  my  youthful  days  which  is 
amusing.  The  students  have  not  much  money  to  spend, 
and  if  we  could  occasionally  pick  up  a  little  from  playing 
at  dances  we  felt  very  rich.  So  on  one  occasion  a  concert 
was  to  be  given  at  a  village  six  miles  from  Liege,  to  be 
followed  by  a  ball.  Cesar  Thomson  and  I  played  in  the 
small  orchestra  for  the  dancing.  We  left  Liege  on  foot, 
as  there  was  no  communication  with  the  village  in  those 
days,  and  walked  for  two  hours  to  arrive  in  time  for  the 
concert,  which  began  at  five.  It  was  on  the  25th  of 
October.  The  program  began  with  a  few  concerted 
pieces  and  songs.  This  was  interspersed  by  a  ball.  The 
long  benches  used  for  the  concert  were  withdrawn  and 
the  people  began  dancing.  The  proprietor  sent  us  ham 
and  bread  and  butter  with  light  beer  at  three  different 
times.     The  ball  ended  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morn- 

24 


ANECDOTES  25 

ing,  and  we  had  more  supper  of  bread  and  light  beer. 
Then  with  the  compensation  of  four  francs,  each  one  of 
the  orchestra  walked  back  to  town  in  the  pitch  dark 
night,  but  as  we  came  into  the  big  square  of  Liege  we 
felt  that  the  whole  town  belonged  to  us  each  and  every 
one  individually,  so  rich  we  felt  with  those  four  francs 
(about  eighty  cents  of  American  money). 

The  annual  concours  or  contests  at  the  Conservatoire 
were  a  matter  of  intense  interest  to  the  people  in  town 
and  the  province,  because  the  contests  were  judged  by  a 
jury  composed  of  the  Director  as  president,  and  four,  six 
or  eight  members  (according  to  the  importance  of  the 
contest)  taken  from  other  Conservatoires  —  and  as  every 
pupil  had  his  own  coterie  of  friends  and  admirers,  the 
rivalry  was  high  and  the  excitement  was  great  when  the 
verdict  of  the  jury  was  announced.  The  contests  took 
place  in  the  large  concert  hall  of  the  Conservatoire,  and 
after  the  seance  for  violin,  which  lasted  two  days  with 
two  sessions  each  day  at  8  a.  m.  and  2  p.  m. 

The  first  consisted  of  studies  (at  least  three  in  number) 
for  each  pupil,  and  the  afternoon  session  was  for  the 
sonatas  of  old  masters,  at  least  three  in  number ;  selection 
to  be  made  by  the  jury,  in  all  of  which  the  pupil  must  be 
prepared  to  play  from  memory.  The  first  session  of  the 
second  day  was  devoted  to  hearing  the  pupils  in  a  piece 
of  their  own  selection,  and  the  second  session  in  the  after- 
noon consisted  of  the  playing  of  an  imposed  work,  either 
one  or  more  parts,  of  a  classic  concerto,  selected  by  the 
Director;  and  when  you  consider  that  there  were  usually 
between  thirty  and  forty  contestants,  you  can  imagine  the 
repertory  which  was  played  by  the  pupils,  and  had  to  be 


26  MY  MEMORIES 

listened  to  by  the  jury.  At  the  end  of  the  concours  the 
jury  retired  to  a  private  room  and  voted  by  secret  ballot 
as  to  the  degree  of  merits,  distinction,  prizes,  etc.,  which 
they  conferred  upon  each  pupil. 

Their  decisions  were  inscribed  and  posted  in  the  large 
corridor  of  the  Conservatoire  where  the  crowd  of  pupils 
and  people  were  waiting  with  the  greatest  anxiety.  This 
describes  an  ordinary  contest  called  "  Concours  Or- 
dinaire." For  the  Concours  Superieur,  or  highest  con- 
test, when  gold  and  silver  medals  are  awarded  the  com- 
petitors, each  one  must  have  a  repertory  of  fifteen  pieces, 
composed  of  four  concertos  and  the  balance  of  classic 
pieces  and  Morceaux  de  Genre,  all  played  from  memory, 
and  from  which  the  jury  might  make  its  several  selec- 
tions. In  these  Concours  Superieurs  the  number  of 
pupils  was  very  small,  but  the  public  interest  was  im- 
mense. For  the  contest  the  student  had  to  know  not  only 
his  repertory  for  his  instrument,  but  also  orchestration, 
transposition  and  the  history  of  music,  in  which  he  was 
examined  by  the  different  members  of  the  jury.  The 
concert  hall  of  the  Conservatoire  of  Liege  would  seat  two 
thousand  people,  and  was  in  the  style  of  the  Opera 
Comique  of  Paris,  with  Royal  boxes,  etc.,  and  a  magnifi- 
cent organ  at  the  rear  of  the  stage.  This  stage  could 
hold  six  hundred  of  an  orchestra  and  chorus. 

This  is  the  program  of  Louis  Siegel  who  has  toured  in 
America,  and  who  received  the  Gold  Medal  in  my  class 
in  Liege, 


ANECDOTES  27 

SiEGEL  Program 

Concertos — i.  Beethoven.  2.  Mendelssohn.  3.  Max 
Bruch-G  minor.     4.  Wieniawski. 

Sonatas — i.  Chaconne,  Bach,  2.  Prelude  and  Fugue, 
Bach.    3.  Sonata  in  E  minor,  Bach. 

Pieces  of  Virtuosity — i.  Rondo  Capricioso,  Saint- 
Saens.  2.  Caprice  de  Concert  No.  2,  Ovide  Musin.  3. 
Airs  Russes,  Wieniawski.  4.  Polonaise  No.  2,  Wieni- 
awski. 5.  Romance  in  B  minor,  Paganini.  6.  Romance 
in  G  major,  Beethoven. 

Selection  by  the  pupil  —  Concerto  No.  i  in  E  major, 
Vieuxtemps,  with  orchestral  accompaniment. 

Every  one  of  the  above  numbers  had  to  be  played  from 
memory,  and  the  jury  would  choose  certain  movements 
and  fragments  from  these  works  in  order  to  judge  of  the 
pupil's  command  of  the  different  styles,  technical  finish, 
interpretative  powers,  and  special  qualifications  for  the 
career  of  an  artist  and  musician.  The  work  of  the  pupils 
in  preparation  for  such  a  contest  was  tremendous,  and 
they  usually  grew  thin  at  it.  The  interest  and  rivalry 
which  existed  among  the  professors  was  equally  great. 
For  my  part,  I  am  proud  to  recall  that  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  I  carried  off  the  Gold  Medal  "  with  greatest 
distinction  "  (this  is  the  official  term  given  for  the  Degree 
aw^arded).  At  the  annual  contest  of  the  Concours 
Superior  of  the  Conservatory,  the  Jury  is  augmented 
from  five  to  seven  members,  and  the  house  is  simply 
jammed  with  interested  auditors.  I  hope  some  time  to 
have  complete  data  as  to  the  careers  of  my  many  prize 
pupils  formed  during  my  eleven  years'  service  as  Pro- 


28  MY  MEMORIES 

fessor  of  the  Superior  classe  at  the  Royal  Conservatoire 
of  Liege. 

OSTEND 

In  1 87 1  I  became  Concertmaster  of  the  Symphony  con- 
certs in  Ostend  which  were  given  in  the  old  Kursaal,  which 
has  since  been  moved  to  Dunkirk,  where,  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  I  appeared  in  it  again  in  1888.  The  old 
Kursaal  at  Ostend  has  been  replaced  by  a  magnificent  new 
hall  which  will  seat  about  ten  thousand  people;  but  the 
classic  concerts  at  Ostend  before  the  war  of  19 14  were 
given  in  a  smaller  hall  which  seats  about  a  thousand  and 
where  I  appeared  in  the  summer  of  1902,  playing  the 
Damrosch  "  Concertstuck  "  in  four  parts  (by  Dr.  Leopold 
Damrosch),  my  Caprice  No.  2  and  other  pieces.  The 
orchestra  was  the  largest  of  any  summer  resort  in  the 
world  and  was  conducted  by  Louis  Rinskopf. 

The  Franco-Prussian  War  of  1870-71  did  not  put 
a  stop  to  the  concerts  at  Ostend,  which  was  then  also  a 
fashionable  watering-place  and  except  for  a  few  more 
modern  hotels  was  the  same  as  to-day. 

The  work  was  light  in  those  days  as  we  had  only  five 
concerts  a  week  of  one  hour  and  a  half,  the  Kursaal  being 
used  on  Sundays  and  Thursdays  for  military  band  con- 
certs. Singelee,  who  had  composed  a  lot  of  music  for 
violin  and  was  formerly  conductor  of  the  Opera  House  la 
Monnaie,  in  Bruxelles,  was  the  Conductor  of  these  or- 
c'hestral  concerts. 

Besides  playing  as  soloist  I  had  also  to  play  with  the 
orchestra,  and  I  had  a  Quartette  which  gave  seances  every 
Thursday  afternoon,  of  which  Arthur  Guide  was  second 


ANECDOTES  29 

violin,  Kurt  was  the  viola,  and  Mariotti  the  'cellist,  I 
playing  first  violin.  Eugene  Ysaye  was  one  of  the  first 
violins  of  the  orchestra  and  sat  at  the  same  stand  with 
myself.  Arthur  Guide,  already  a  prominent  violinist, 
asked  me  one  day  if  I  would  give  him  a  chance  to  appear, 
and  I  said :  "  Certainly,  with  the  greatest  pleasure ;  " 
and  it  was  arranged  that  he  should  appear  as  soloist  in 
my  place  on  a  Wednesday,  two  weeks  later;  but  the  day 
before  the  date  when  Daveluy  came  to  get  the  program, 
Guide  was  so  nervous  that  he  said  he  Would  have  to  give 
it  up.  I  said,  "  Very  well,  I  will  play ;  but  I  should  like 
to  play  the  '  Airs  Russes  '  (Russian  Airs  by  Wieniawski) 
but  I  have  not  the  orchestration."  Joseph  Duysens,  a 
member  of  the  Symphony,  and  one  of  the  boys  from 
Liege,  overheard  the  conversation  and  said,  "  That  is  not 
such  a  very  long  job,  I  think  I  could  do  it."  That  was  at 
9  p.  M.  on  Tuesday,  and  at  9  a.  m.  the  next  day  the  or- 
chestration was  finished  and  the  parts  on  the  stands  for 
the  rehearsal,  three  each  for  first  and  second  violin,  one 
viola,  'cello,  double  bass,  and  for  all  the  wind  instruments, 
etc.,  etc. 

Duysens  had  sat  up  all  night  to  finish  the  score  on  time 
for  the  rehearsal.  To  say  that  I  was  delighted  hardly 
expresses  my  feeling  on  the  subject. 

An  incident  connected  with  this  concert  I  shall  never 
forget  if  I  were  to  live  a  thousand  years.  After  the  con- 
cert was  over  Singelee,  the  Director,  came  to  me  and 
said :  "  Musin,  here  is  some  one  whom  you  will  be  glad 
to  meet;  let  me  present  you  to  M.  Henri  Wieniawski." 
Imagine  my  state  of  mind,  for  to  us  young  violin  artists 
Wieniawski  was  a  god.     I  said  that  I  was  glad  I  had  not 


30  MY  MEMORIES 

known  of  his  presence  before  I  played  his  beautiful  work; 
for  I  would  surely  have  been  very  nervous ;  but  the  great 
celebrity  complimented  me  on  my  playing  of  his  com- 
position, and  took  me  with  him  to  his  hotel.  There  was  a 
long  table  in  the  middle  of  his  large  room  and  arm  in 
arm  we  walked  around  and  around  it  talking  music  and 
violin  for  hours.  He  also  told  me  of  his  leaving  St. 
Petersburg  on  account  of  his  fight  concerning  Mario, 
the  tenor  of  the  Imperial  Opera  at  St.  Petersburg. 
Wieniawski  told  me  that  Vianesi,  the  Conductor  of  the 
Imperial  Opera,  did  not  like  Mario,  and  Wieniawski,  who 
was  Concertmaster  of  the  Opera  orchestra  and  a  great 
admirer  of  Mario,  threw  some  flowers  to  Mario,  which 
so  enraged  Vianesi  that  words  finally  led  to  blows. 

The  Emperor  heard  of  the  encounter  and  Wieniawski 
had  to  leave  the  country  within  forty-eight  hours.  The 
Opera  house  in  St.  Petersburg  at  that  time  was  considered 
as  belonging  to  the  Emperor,  and  any  one  causing  a  dis- 
turbance had  to  be  punished.  Wieniawski  went  home 
and  told  his  wife  to  pack  up  what  she  could  and  to  take 
the  children  and  leave  with  him  the  next  day.  He  after- 
ward came  to  America  for  a  tour  with  Anton  Rubinstein, 
Wm.  Steinway  backing  the  venture,  and  on  his  return 
to  Europe  he  accepted  the  position  of  Professor  of  Violin 
at  the  Royal  Conservatoire  of  Brussels  in  the  place  of 
Henri  Vieuxtemps,  who  went  to  Paris.  I  must  not  omit 
to  mention  the  fact  that  Wieniawski  asked  me  who  had 
made  the  orchestration  for  his  Russian  Airs  which  I  had 
played.  I  told  him  it  was  young  Duysens  and  he  said 
it  was  very  good  indeed.  At  that  memorable  meeting 
I  had  the  hardihood  to  show  this  great  Master  my  Ca- 


ANECDOTES  31 

price  de  Concert  No.  i  and  played  it  for  him,  and  it  turned 
out  that  my  composition  had  the  great  honor  of  being 
played  by  this  master  on  his  concert  tour,  the  last  which 
he  made  in  Europe. 

Vianesi  with  whom  Wieniawski  had  that  quarrel  came 
to  New  York  in  1884  as  first  Conductor  of  the  Metro- 
politan Opera  under  Henry  Abbey's  directorship.  The 
second  Conductor  at  that  time  was  Campanini,  afterward 
Director  of  the  Chicago  Opera. 

As  I  have  already  mentioned,  my  Quartet  gave  cham- 
ber concerts  at  Ostend  every  Thursday  in  the  Concert 
Hall,  and  all  four  of  us  were  living  in  the  Hotel  de  I'Uni- 
vers.  Besides  our  own  rooms  the  landlady  had  given  us 
a  nice  large  room  on  the  first  floor  for  our  rehearsals 
but  on  the  condition  that  if  any  one  should  rent  it  we 
should  have  to  take  our  music  stands  out  and  go  some- 
where else  for  rehearsals.  We  accepted  this  arrange- 
ment with  pleasure  and  everything  was  all  right  until 
one  day  an  old  man  and  his  wife  rented  the  room.  When 
we  were  informed  of  the  fact  we  were  in  despair  for 
we  did  not  know  where  to  go.  Having  related  our  mis- 
fortune to  one  of  our  friends  more  clever  than  we  were, 
he  said,  "  I  know  a  way  by  which  you  could  get  your 
room  back  again  but  for  that  you  will  have  to  follow  my 
instructions  which  will  be  given  to  you  to-night,  at  half 
past  eleven,  at  the  hotel."  This  was  the  time  when  the 
hotel  was  closed  for  the  night  and  everything  quiet. 
We  were  all  very  much  excited  and  tried  to  imagine  what 
our  friend  could  have  in  mind  but  we  were  altogether  in 
the  dark  about  his  plan.  After  the  Kursaal  Concert, 
which  was  finished  at  nine  o'clock,  we  went  home  to  the 


32  MY  MEMORIES 

hotel  and  waited  for  our  friend  to  come.  At  about  ten 
o'clock  the  old  gentleman  and  his  wife  retired,  and  by 
eleven  the  lights  of  the  hotel  were  all  out;  and  then  came 
our  friend.  In  a  very  mysterious  way  we  all  went  up 
stairs  and  at  last  our  friend  gave  us  the  clew.  "  Come 
out  into  the  halls,"  he  said;  "  run  up  and  down  stairs  and 
yell  fire!  fire!  at  the  top  of  your  lungs.  Keep  it  up  until 
the  whole  house  is  in  an  uproar."  Thereupon  we  did 
as  he  directed  and  immediately  there  was  the  greatest  ex- 
citement, the  landlady,  the  old  man  and  his  wife  and 
every  one  else  rushing  about  to  know  where  the  fire  was. 
Meantime  we  had  sneaked  quietly  up  to  our  rooms.  The 
old  man  left  the  next  day  disgusted,  and  half  an  hour 
afterwards  our  music  stands  were  back  in  the  nice  big 
room  on  the  first  floor. 

Trio  Humoristic 

Leonard  had  composed  a  trio  for  three  violins  with 
orchestral  accompaniment  called  "  Trio  Humoristique  " 
which  Ysaye,  Guide  and  I  played  several  times  at  the 
Kursaal  at  Ostend  with  great  success.  Leonard  had 
arranged  this  composition  from  a  Spanish  theme  which 
told  the  story  of  a  maiden,  her  lover  and  the  severe 
father.  Ysaye  took  the  violin  part  which  represented 
the  maiden,  Guide  that  of  the  lover  and  I  that  of  the 
severe  father. 

I  came  across  a  faded  photograph  the  other  day  taken 
of  us  three  after  one  of  those  performances.  Ysaye  had 
evidently  outgrown  his  clothes  for  the  legs  of  his  trousers 
are  much  too  short  and  tight,  and  the  sleeves  of  his  coat 
allow  his  hands  to  protrude  conspicuously,  while  my  own 


•/,/>^,' .;. 


'?^no  X'i'.mcristiquc  de   C£cvnar(l 

par 
JUL  J/vsi7}y  Jsoi/e  et  SvitU. 


ANECDOTES  33 

coat  was  far  too  large  for  me  and  my  trousers  too  long. 
Guide's  appearance  is  much  more  sleek  in  this  old  photo- 
graph ;  but  this  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  his 
father  was  a  tailor. 

Clothes  did  not  count  for  much  with  us  young  fellows 
at  that  time,  consumed  as  we  were  with  artistic  ardor 
and  ambition;  but  I  recall  one  of  those  days  at  Ostend 
when  I  felt  very  keenly  in  more  senses  than  one,  a  mis- 
hap which  occurred  to  a  brand  new  pair  of  pearl  gray 
trousers  in  which  I  was  arrayed.  It  happened  that  we 
had  gone  to  a  restaurant  for  supper,  when  a  violent 
thunderstorm  came  up.  During  a  lull  we  ventured  out 
to  make  a  run  for  home,  when  a  thunderbolt  struck  just 
near  us  and  we  were  all  thrown  to  the  ground  and  into 
mud-puddles  to  boot.  We  were  all  stunned  for  some 
moments  and  one  of  our  party  lost  his  eyesight  for  several 
hours,  and  my  new  trousers  were  ruined.  From  that 
day  to  this  I  am  decidedly  nervous  when  a  thunderstorm 
comes  up.  Speaking  of  thunderstorms  reminds  me  of 
an  experience  I  had  while  on  a  visit  to  the  Adirondack 
region.  I  never  went  through  such  a  period  of  nervous- 
ness, or  witnessed  such  perpetual  displays  of  lightning, 
or  heard  such  constant  growling  and  explosions  of 
thunder;  day  and  night  and  night  and  day,  just  one 
storm  after  another  for  several  weeks.  At  night  I  would 
nearly  suffocate,  buried  under  the  bedclothes,  with  hardly 
a  wink  of  sleep  to  be  had.  By  day  it  was  to  run  and 
close  the  windows,  pull  down  the  shades  and  light  the 
gas.  One  time  we  had  been  trout  fishing  and  hunting 
—  my  nephew  and  I  —  and  we  had  our  rifles  along  which 
lay  in  the  bottom  of  the  open  wagon  in  which  we  were 


34  MY  MEMORIES 

riding  on  our  way  home  long  after  dark.  Of  course  it 
began  to  rain  in  torrents,  with  lightning  flashing  about 
us  with  crashes  of  thunder.  Under  such  conditions,  and 
considering  the  proximity  of  the  gun  barrels  as  con- 
ductors, we  thought  it  wise  to  seek  shelter  in  a  farm 
house  which  we  saw  by  the  road.  The  driver  stopped 
the  horse,  and  we,  seizing  the  robes,  held  them  over  our 
heads  and  made  a  dash  for  the  door  of  the  cottage.  For 
a  moment  or  two  there  was  no  response  to  our  knocking, 
but  finally  a  woman  cautiously  opened  the  door  a  bit  and 
peered  out  but  quickly  shut  it  again  in  our  faces.  After 
considerable  explanations  and  pleading,  through  the 
crack  of  the  door,  we  were  allowed  to  enter ;  but  the 
woman  had  two  men  folks  with  her.  It  seemed  that  our 
appearance  was  such  as  to  frighten  the  woman,  who 
thought  we  were  vagrants,  robbers  or  possibly  murderers. 
On  finding  us  really  harmless  and  unarmed  they  treated 
us  hospitably  and  allowed  us  to  remain  until  the  storm 
had  passed. 

Although  I  had  excellent  sport  and  made  many  charm- 
ing friends  up  in  Malone,  and  at  Paul  Smith's  and  at 
other  resorts  in  the  mountains  and  on  the  beautiful  lakes, 
the  thunderstorms  which  prevail  thereabouts  have  since 
deterred  me  from  making  further  trips  there. 

To  return  to  the  subject  of  the  "  Trio  Humoristique," 
I  should  mention  that  Arthur  Guide's  brother  was 
formerly  Director  of  La  Monnaie,  the  Royal  Grand 
Opera  at  Brussels.  Guide  was  a  warm  friend  of  mine, 
and  whenever  we  met  we  would  have  many  a  laugh 
together  over  the  boyish  pranks  of  our  young  days.     The 


ANECDOTES  35 

last  time  I  met  him  was  in  Paris,  about  1902,  when  I 
was  there  for  a  Recital  which  I  gave  at  the  Salle  Erard. 

When  I  First  Heard  Vieuxtemps 

The  first  time  I  heard  Vieuxtemps,  the  great  Belgian 
violinist,  was  in  1865,  at  a  Concert  in  Liege,  at  the  Theater 
Royal.  The  Concert  was  advertised  by  the  manager 
Ullman,  as  the  "  Concert  of  the  Ten  Celebrities,"  and  the 
artists  were:  Carlotta  Patti,  coloratura  soprano  (sister 
of  Adelina  Patti);  Marie  Cabel,  soprano;  Alboni,  con- 
tralto; Evrardi,  baritone;  Jael,  pianist;  Vieuxtemps,  vio- 
linist; Jacquart,  'cellist;  Herman  Leon,  flutist;  Bottesini, 
contra-bassist ;  Maton,  accompanist.  Ullman,  the  Man- 
ager, did  everything  on  a  big  scale  and  managed  the 
greatest  artists,  throughout  Europe,  for  many  years,  also 
in  the  United  States. 

My  father  came  expressly  from  Nandrin  to  Liege  to 
take  me  and  to  hear  this  great  concert  himself.  The 
Theater  was  packed,  the  prices  for  seats  and  boxes  were 
tripled,  and  many  people  were  turned  away. 

Although  I  was  only  eleven  years  old  at  the  time,  I 
remember  distinctly  two  pieces  of  that  program.  One 
was  the  "  Kreutzer  Sonata,"  played  by  Jael  and  Vieux- 
temps, and  Vieuxtemps'  "  Ballade  and  Polonaise,"  played 
by  the  composer  himself. 

I  also  remember  the  furore  created  by  Bottesini,  with 
his  playing  of  the  double  bass.  That  was  the  first  time 
that  a  double  bassist  had  ever  appeared  as  a  soloist  at  a 
concert  in  Liege. 

The  second  time  I  heard  Vieuxtemps  was  two  years 


36  MY  MEMORIES 

later  at  one  of  the  concerts  of  the  Royal  Conservatory, 
given  at  the  Salle  d'Emulation.  I  played  second  violin 
in  the  Orchestra. 

Vieuxtemps  played  his  Fourth  Concerto,  and  his  "  Fan- 
tasie  Appassionata."  Shortly  after  this,  Vieuxtemps  be- 
came paralyzed  in  one  arm  and  could  no  longer  play, 
and  several  years  later,  when  I  went  to  Paris,  I  used  to 
go  to  see  him  at  his  house  in  the  Rue  Blanche,  situated  in 
that  quarter  of  Paris  called  Notre  Dame  de  Lorette. 

I  used  to  play  his  compositions,  for  him  to  hear,  and 
offer  remarks ;  but  he  was  unable  to  illustrate  by  playing, 
and  Ysaye  and  other  violinists  younger  than  myself  never 
heard  Vieuxtemps  play;  he  taught  only  by  remarks. 


CHAPTER  V 

MY    ENTRANCE   INTO    PARIS 

My  dear  mother  had  prepared  a  basket  for  me  full  of 
good  things,  enough  for  a  long  journey.  This  she  gave 
me  before  I  started.  But,  as  the  train  for  P'aris  left  at 
2  A.  M.  and  arrived  at  8  a.  m.,  six  hours,  I  did  not  open 
it.  Still  I  clung  to  the  basket,  carrying  it  to  my  lodg- 
ings where,  after  several  days,  its  existence  was  made 
manifest  by  the  odor  it  exhaled. 

On  my  journey  I  scarcely  slept.  I  was  too  excited  and 
full  of  joyful  anticipation  at  the  thought  of  going  to 
Paris,  the  great  metropolis  and  unique  center  of  all  that 
is  artistic. 

Leonard  had  left  Liege  a  week  before,  and  as  soon  as 
I  had  located  my  lodgings,  I  went,  of  course,  to  see  him. 
He  was  then  living  in  an  apartment  on  the  sixth  floor  of 
a  house  in  the  Rue  Chauchat,  near  the  center  of  Paris 
and  near  the  Rue  Lafayette. 

Leonard  arranged  to  move  into  another  apartment  in 
the  entresol.  Rue  Condorcet,  where  he  had  nice  large 
rooms  in  which  he  entertained  and  had  musical  evenings 
every  Saturday.  There  I  was  thrown  with  all  the  great 
artists,  musicians,  painters,  sculptors,  men  of  letters,  etc. 

Pauline  Viardot-Garcia  used  to  come  there  frequently. 
She  was  a  cousin  of  Mrs.  Leonard,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Antonia  di  Mendi.     The  latter  was  also  a  prima 

37 


38  MY  MEMORIES 

donna  who  traveled  for  many  years  with  her  husband 
in  his  concert  tours  in  Europe. 

Saint-Saens  had  just  resigned  as  organist  of  the  Made- 
leine and  had  been  succeeded  by  Theodore  Dubois. 
Cesar  Franck  was  organist  of  St.  Clotilde,  Raoul  Pugno 
of  St.  Eugene  and  Vidor  of  St.  Sulpice.  Halansier  was 
director  of  the  Grand  Opera,  Rue  le  Peletier,  which  was 
burnt  in  1874,  and  Carvalho,  director  of  the  Opera 
Comique,  burned  in  1887. 

An  extraordinary  coincidence  was  that  Gabriel  Faure, 
who  succeeded  Theodore  Dubois  as  organist  at  the  Made- 
leine, succeeded  him  also  as  director  of  the  Conservatoire. 

When  I  arrived  in  Paris,  the  Commune  had  just  been 
beaten  by  the  government  under  the  Presidency  of 
Thiers.  In  stature  Thiers  was  a  small  man,  but  in  in- 
tellect he  was  a  giant.  He  wrote  perhaps  the  most  inter- 
esting history  of  France.  Many  signs  of  the  destruc- 
tion wrought  by  the  Paris  Commune  were  visible. 

The  palace  of  the  Tuileries  was  in  ruins,  largely  caused 
by  fire  which  was  fed  by  the  firemen,  who  used  petroleum 
in  the  fire  extinguishers  instead  of  water.  In  the  upper 
part  of  P^ris,  called  La  Villette,  just  near  the  Gare  du 
Nord,  the  houses  were  riddled  with  bullets,  etc.,  although 
the  great  fighting  took  place  between  Paris  and  Ver- 
sailles. 

In  Paris  itself  life  was  quite  normal,  the  only  per- 
ceptible difference  being  the  tax  on  matches,  of  which 
we  were  given  but  tzuo  with  which  to  light  our  candles 
to  go  to  bed,  and  generally  neither  of  them  would  strike. 
We  soon  learned  to  lay  in  a  stock  to  assure  a  light  with 
which  to  find  our  way  to  bed.     The  matches  were  so  bad 


MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  39 

we  used  to  make  bets,  and  the  first  one  who  would  have 
a  match  which  would  strike  would  win  the  bet.  Even 
up  to  1908  the  French  people  suffered  from  the  restric- 
tion of  matches.  A  few  stray  boxes  overlooked  by  cus- 
toms officials  would  find  a  welcome  from  visitors  in 
France.  Tobacco,  of  course,  was  also  taxed.  It  was  a 
government  monopoly  yielding  a  large  revenue. 

My  first  lodging  in  Paris  was  in  the  Rue  Buffault.  I 
had  a  pretty  good  room  for  fifty  francs  a  month.  The 
lessee  of  the  house  was  a  wine  merchant  who  sold  his 
wine  in  the  store  while  he  rented  the  rooms  above.  He 
used  to  pass  most  of  his  time  at  a  cafe  nearby  playing 
cards  and  dominoes,  and  his  daughter  was  left  in  charge 
of  the  business.  I  found  her  a  very  pretty  and  interest- 
ing young  lady,  and  occasionally,  while  resting  from  my 
violin  practice,  I  would  go  down  for  a  few  minutes'  chat. 
The  father  thought  it  would  be  a  good  scheme  to  arrange 
a  marriage  between  us,  and  one  day  he  said  to  me : 

"  M.  Musin,  you  are  a  musician.  I  myself  have  been 
a  musician.  I  used  to  play  the  bassoon;  but  there  is 
nothing  in  it.  Now,"  he  said,  "  I  see  that  you  are  not  in- 
different to  my  daughter  and  she  likes  you.  Why  don't 
you  marry  her  and  we  will  be  associated  together  in  busi- 


ness 


But  as  I  was  elsewhere  engaged  that  week,  I  had  to 
leave  the  house  and  was  living  in  another  quarter  of 
Paris,  so  that  promising  romance  did  not  materialize. 

During  the  first  weeks  of  my  visit  to  Paris,  from 
October  to  the  middle  of  November,  it  rained  every  day. 
I  had  to  cross  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  Montmartre  in  go- 
ing out  of  the  Rue  Buffault  in  order  to  go  to  the  great 


40  MY  MEMORIES 

boulevards  where,  among  the  crowds  of  people,  I  was 
surprised  to  see  so  many  Parisian  ladies  wearing  white 
stockings.  Rather  long  skirts  were  then  in  fashion,  and 
to  avoid  the  mud  of  the  streets,  they  lifted  them  quite 
high;  thus  this  extraordinary  display  of  white  hose.  It 
was  a  decided  contrast  to  the  mode  in  Belgium.  But 
here  in  New  York,  with  the  fashions  of  to-day,  there 
would  have  been  no  need  for  lifting  the  skirts,  for  they 
are  short  enough  to  withstand  any  and  all  disagreeble 
effects  of  the  elements,  except,  perhaps,  the  cold ! 

At  that  time  I  used  to  go,  quite  often,  to  a  little  res- 
taurant on  the  Rue  d'Aboukir  and  I  was  surprised  to  hear 
so  many  people  talking  German.  They  all  claimed  to 
be  Alsatian  or  Swiss,  but  in  reality  they  were  genuine 
Germans.  This  was  a  recognized  fact,  for  many  of  them 
were  in  Paris  before  the  war  of  1870.  Then  they  went 
back  to  Germany  to  fight  the  French;  and  as  soon  as 
peace  was  proclaimed,  they  came  back  at  once  to  resume 
their  positions  in  German  firms.  But  to  the  French  peo- 
ple they  declared  themselves  to  be  Alsatians,  where  the 
German  language  is  used  a  great  deal,  and  as  before  the 
war  Alsace  was  French,  they  had  the  freedom  of  France. 
This  subterfuge  can  never  be  employed  again  now  that 
Alsace-Lorraine  is  once  more  French  territory.  It  is 
a  fact  that,  no  matter  how  long  a  German  is  in  France, 
he  will  always  retain  the  German  accent  in  his  speech, 
so  that  any  one  with  a  little  experience  can  detect  the 
German.  The  same  with  the  Englishman.  It  is  only 
with  the  Russian  and  the  Pole  that  one  cannot  readily  dis- 
tinguish the  difference  from  a  real  Frenchman  when  they 
speak  French. 


MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  41 

The  paramount  importance  of  the  violin  and  the  lesser 
importance  of  the  viola  are  demonstrated  in  the  fact  that 
during  my  time  of  study  at  the  Conservatoire  of  Liege 
there  was  no  professor  of  the  viola  in  the  institution, 
for  those  who  took  up  that  instrument  were  usually  those 
violinists  who  had  not  the  requisite  aptitude  for  carry- 
ing violin  playing  to  the  highest  plane  and,  therefore,  in 
the  class  for  the  quartette  at  Liege,  the  viola  part  was 
sometimes  played  by  the  first  violin  and  sometimes  by 
the  second.  In  fact,  the  quartette  was  played  by  three 
violinists  and  the  'cellist,  the  violinists  taking  turns  play- 
ing the  viola  part;  and  this  is  how  I  happened  to  learn 
to  play  the  viola.  (Now  every  conservatory  has  a  viola 
professor.) 

I  had  been  in  Paris,  in  1872,  scarcely  one  week  when 
I  had  my  first  engagement,  not  as  a  violinist  but  as  a 
viola  player.  Leonard  was  asked  to  find  a  violist  to  play 
quartette  with  some  amateurs  out  at  Crenelle  (just  at  the 
terminus  of  the  omnibus  line,  Porte  St.  Martin  Crenelle), 
and  he  advised  me  to  go;  but  as  I  had  no  viola  Leonard 
loaned  me  his,  which  by  the  way  was  a  genuine  Amati. 
I  was  to  receive  thirty  francs  (about  six  dollars)  for 
every  evening  which  was  not  at  all  bad  in  those  days  for 
a  starter,  or  "  pot  boiler,"  as  the  painters  say.  The  first 
violin,  'cellist  and  pianist  were  all  amateurs  and  the  piece 
chosen  was  the  C  minor  quartette  of  Beethoven.  There 
was  first  of  all  a  heated  discussion  between  the  pianist 
and  violinist  as  to  which  should  give  the  signal  to  start, 
but  in  the  end  it  was  decided  that  the  first  violinist  would 
count  1-2-3-4. 

Everything  went  well  so  far  as  3,  but  4  was  more  the 


42  MY  MEMORIES 

shriek  of  a  wild  animal  than  anything  else,  owing  to  his 
excitement,  I  suppose.  This  was  more  than  I  could  stand 
and  I  was  nearly  bursting  with  suppressed  laughter.  The 
quartette  was  so  bad  that  I  bit  my  lips  trying  to  keep  a 
sober  face,  and  I  made  a  very  bad  impression.  Leonard 
told  me  afterwards  that  they  said  they  would  have  to 
have  some  one  else  and  so  I  lost  my  job.  Leonard 
asked  me  what  I  did  to  them  anyway  and  when  I  de- 
scribed the  performance,  he  burst  out  laughing  too  and 
said  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  while  it  is  easy  enough  to 
play  an  instrument  and  sing  at  the  same  time,  to  play 
and  talk  at  the  same  time  is  very  difficult,  as  one  loses 
control  of  the  speaking  voice;  which  accounts  for  the 
wild  shriek  of  the  man  counting  four. 

When  I  arrived  in  Paris  in  1872,  the  leading  manager 
was  Giacomelli,  an  Italian  Jew.  He  had  also  been  the 
manager  for  the  series  of  Wagner  operas  at  Brussels, 
many  years  before,  an  enterprise  which  was  a  financial 
failure  and  in  which  Franz  Liszt,  who  was  a  great  friend 
and  admirer  of  Wagner,  dropped  a  lot  of  money.  Wag- 
ner at  that  epoch  was  not  appreciated  in  Brussels  any  more 
than  in  Paris  when  Tannhauser  was  given  for  the  first 
time  in  1861,  nor  in  Germany  either  for  that  matter. 

To  come  back  to  Giacomelli.  He  had  the  highest  repu- 
tation as  a  manager  for  concerts  in  Paris  and  most  of  the 
leading  societies  in  the  Provinces  wrote  to  him  when 
in  search  of  the  best  musical  artists  in  Paris  —  even  stars 
of  the  grand  opera  and  opera  comique.  Giacomelli  at 
that  time  engaged  Leonard  for  a  series  of  concerts  in  the 
West,  to  begin  at  Chartres,  Angers,  Nantes,  etc.  Before 
the  beginning  of  the  tour,  Leonard  was  seized  with  an 


MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  43 

attack  of  gout  and  could  not  walk.  He  told  Giacomelli 
that  a  young  Belgian  violinist  who  was  in  Paris  would 
be  worth  a  hearing  and  the  next  day  was  fixed  for  hearing 
me  play.  I  was  informed  by  a  note  from  Leonard  that 
I  should  be  at  his  studio  with  my  violin  at  ten  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  I  played  the  andante  and  finale  of  the 
Fourth  Concerto  of  Leonard  and  the  Hungarian  airs 
by  Ernst.     After  the  audition,  I  was  accepted. 

In  this  concert  tour,  Leonard  had  not  been  billed  as  the 
only  attraction,  for  Marie  Marimon,  the  great  canta- 
trice,  and  Jael,  the  celebrated  pianist,  and  Maton,  the  king 
of  accompanists,  were  members  of  the  company.  But 
the  name  of  Leonard  stayed  on  the  bill,  although  an  an- 
nouncement was  made  on  the  night  of  the  concert,  tell- 
ing of  his  illness  and  announcing  his  substitute.  I  felt 
by  the  cold  reception  that  I  was  not  wanted,  but  this  did 
not  affect  my  playing  because  my  will  prevailed  over 
my  nervousness  and  I  did  my  utmost  to  play  well.  And, 
I  must  say,  the  public  was  very  demonstrative  after  my 
pieces. 

One  year  later,  Henri  Wieniawski,  whom  I  have  always 
considered  to  this  day  (1919)  the  great  genius  of  the 
violin,  was  engaged  by  Giacomelli  for  a  series  of  concerts 
in  the  North  of  France,  to  begin  at  Lille,  then  Dunkirk, 
Arras,  etc.  Wieniawski  was  suddenly  taken  ill  at  the 
Hotel  Vendome  and  had  to  undergo  an  operation.  At 
that  time  I  had  a  small  apartment.  Rue  Cadet,  No.  20. 
The  bell  rang  at  six  o'clock  one  morning  and  when  I 
opened  the  door  whom  should  I  see  but  Giacomelli,  who 
said: 

"  You  will  play  in  Lille  to-day  at  the  Cercle  du  Nord, 


44  MY  MEMORIES 

and  you'll  take  the  seven-fifty  train,  Gare  du  Nord.  I 
will  help  you  pack  your  valise,  for  you''ll  take  the  place  of 
Wieniawski  who  has  been  suddenly  taken  ill  and  cannot 
go.  There  is  an  orchestra.  Accurci,  conductor  of  the 
Opera  Comique,  conducts  and  there  will  be  as  singers 
Mme.  Marie  Sass  of  the  Opera  and  Jacques  Bouhy  of 
the  Opera  Comique,  and  it  is  at  the  Cercle  du  Nord,  the 
leading  society  in  France." 

As  I  was  later  often  engaged  by  Giacomelli,  I  found 
that  he  used  the  same  adjective  "  leading  "  no  matter  how 
small  was  the  town.  But  this  Cercle  du  Nord  at  Lille 
was  really  a  fine  organization,  with  its  own  orchestra, 
which  Accurci  came  regularly  from  Paris  to  conduct. 

Marie  Sass,  soprano  dramatique,  had  created  the  role 
of  Selika  in  Meyerbeer's  opera,  L'Africaine. 

Here  was  another  ordeal  for  me  like  that  in  which  I 
had  played  in  place  of  Leonard.  Giacomelli  helped  me 
pack  and  I  arrived  at  Lille  just  in  time  —  one  o'clock  — 
for  rehearsal.  I  had  the  same  reception  in  the  first  con- 
cert that  I  had  in  Chartres,  and  I  do  not  blame  the  public 
which,  instead  of  hearing  the  great  Wieniawski,  saw  a 
young  fellow  with  black  hair  come  out  with  his  violin. 
But  what  helped  was  a  little  reception  given  me  by  the 
orchestra  when  I  made  my  appearance.  I  remember 
that  I  played  the  Mendelssohn  concerto  and  my  first 
"  caprice,"  both  with  orchestral  accompaniment. 

It  was  certainly  a  piece  of  luck  for  a  young  artist  ab- 
solutely unknown  to  appear  with  such  great  artists,  and 
I  must  say  that  my  star  was  in  the  ascendant. 

My  third  tour  in  France  was  the  first  in  which  I  went 
with  myself  as  a  feature.     Maurice  Strakosch  was  the 


MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  45 

manager  and  the  star  was  Anna  de  Belloca,  a  Russian 
prima  donna,  exceedingly  pretty  and  a  high  soprano.  A 
big  welcome  was  prepared  for  her,  but  her  success  was 
not  great. 

An  incident  happened  during  the  second  week  of  our 
tour.  We  had  one  night  free  and  as  we  had  to  pass 
through  the  town  of  Angers,  where  I  had  some  friends, 
I  asked  to  leave  the  company  at  that  town  and  join  it 
the  next  day.  I  met  my  friends  there  and  had  a  good 
time  as  they  were  all  from  Liege  and  members  of  the 
orchestra  there.  When  I  arrived  at  Nantes  the  next 
day  —  we  were  having  a  concert  there  that  day  —  I  was 
climbing  the  stairs  of  the  Hotel  de  France  (there  was 
no  elevator  in  town)  when  I  met  Mdlle.  de  Belloca  and 
complained  of  the  cold  weather.  Most  graciously  she 
asked  me  to  come  into  her  sitting  room  where  she  ordered 
a  glass  of  Madeira.  At  that  moment  in  came  Belloni, 
the  secretary  of  Maurice  Strakosch,  who  told  me  "  my 
place  was  not  in  Madame's  parlor."  Miss  Belloca,  re- 
senting the  remark,  told  him  that  no  one  but  herself  had 
the  right  to  give  orders  in  her  apartment  and  asked  him 
to  leave  the  room.  He  did  so,  but  at  the  end  of  the  third 
week  I  was  dismissed.  After  that  I  returned  to  Paris, 
glad  to  get  back,  and  being  human,  I  was  not  sorry 
when  I  heard  the  company  had  disbanded  on  account  of 
bad  business. 

In  1875,  at  the  suggestion  of  Gustave  Sandre,  I  or- 
ganized a  quartette  called  the  "  Quartette  Moderne,"  the 
idea  being  to  play  works  by  modern  composers.  Sandre 
was  a  pianist  and  a  good  composer.     His  quartette  for 


46  MY  MEMORIES 

piano  and  strings  is  certainly  remarkable.  The  seances 
were  to  be  called  "  Quatuor  de  Musique  Moderne." 

I  am  proud  to  say  that  this  organization  was  the  first 
to  play  the  ensemble  music  of  Johannes  Brahms  before 
the  public  in  Paris.  We  played  his  two  sextettes  for 
strings,  his  quintette  C  minor,  quartette  with  the  piano 
and  three  of  his  string  quartettes.  At  that  time,  1875, 
his  sonata  in  G  was  not  written. 

These  seances,  given  in  the  Hall  Philippe  Herz,  were 
always  crowded.  It  was  not  a  large  hall,  seating  about 
five  hundred  people,  but  ideal  for  chamber  music.  The 
first  two  rows  were  always  reserved  for  the  King  of 
Hanover  and  his  suite.  After  one  of  the  seances,  I  was 
told  by  a  friend  that  there  was  a  man  in  the  audience  who 
would  give  one  hundred  thousand  francs  to  see  me,  and 
he  mentioned  the  King  of  Hanover.  At  first  I  was 
puzzled,  but  remembering  that  the  King  was  blind,  I  did 
not  find  the  price  exorbitant.  The  king  never  missed 
a  concert.  The  Brahms  selections  named  above  are  con- 
sidered the  gems  of  that  composer's  compositions  for 
chamber  music. 

Brahms  in  Vienna  knew  of  these  seances  in  Paris  and 
when  I  came,  in  1880,  to  play  the  Beethoven  concerto  at 
the  Philharmonic,  Hans  Richter,  conducting,  we  talked 
a  great  deal  about  the  success  of  his  music.  At  that  time 
I  also  met  in  Vienna,  Karl  Goldmark,  author  of  the  opera 
"  The  Queen  of  Sheba,"  a  most  charming  man  and  a 
great  composer.  His  concerto  in  A  minor  for  the  violin 
was  about  being  brought  out  by  a  great  virtuoso.  Miska 
Hauser  was  also  a  good  friend.     He  was  the  violinist 


MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  47 

composer  who  had  a  Stradivarius  violin  and  who  wrote 
of  his  concert  tour  in  America. 

These  seances  of  "  Musique  Moderne  "  becoming 
popular,  I  naturally  reaped  the  benefit  of  this  popularity. 
Among  the  composers  of  classic  music,  even  Cesar 
Franck  paid  me  a  visit  and  asked  me  to  play  one  trio 
that  he  had  brought  with  him.  We  tried  it  and  although 
I  did  my  utmost  to  have  it  played,  Cesar  Franck  being  a 
compatriot  of  mine,  my  associate  found  fault  and  it  was 
not  played.  This  trio,  for  the  piano,  violin  and  'cello, 
was  not  for  a  moment  to  be  compared  with  the  genial 
works  he  composed  later.  Cesar  Franck,  the  great  Bel- 
gian organist  and  composer,  met  the  same  fate  in  Paris 
as  Curie,  the  inventor  of  serum.  Both  were  killed  in 
the  streets  by  trucks,  so  absorbed  were  they  in  their  ideals 
and  day  dreams.  Thus,  unfortunately,  ended  the  career 
of  two  men  of  genius.  Their  death  was  an  irreparable 
loss  to  music  and  science. 

In  my  time,  an  artist  began  by  making  himself  known 
among  society  people  where  he  would  be  invited  to  dine 
and  play  afterwards.  No  one  put  any  advertisements  in 
the  papers,  as  in  the  United  States,  but  when  an  artist 
had  established  his  reputation  in  society,  he  would  be  in- 
troduced to  the  manager  of  a  concert  hall,  who  is  usually 
an  employee  of  the  firm  of  a  piano  house.  No  charge 
was  made  for  the  hall,  but  10%  of  the  receipts  are  taken 
for  the  Droits  d'Auteurs  and  10%  for  the  Droits  des 
Pauvres,  but  as  most  of  the  tickets  are  distributed  bv  the 
artist  among  his  friends  and  acquaintances,  the  number 


48  MY  MEMORIES 

of  unsold  tickets  is  unknown,  and  an  agreement  for  a 
certain  sum  may  be  arranged  by  the  giver  of  the  concert, 
and  in  that  way  he  is  free  from  financial  distractions 
during  the  performance. 

Assisting  artists  contributed  their  services  free  of 
charge,  and  as  may  be  imagined,  there  was  little  beside 
artistic  gratification  realized  by  any  one  concerned  save 
the  Droits  d'Auteurs  and  the  Droits  des  Pauvres.  The 
artist  may  play  at  as  many  musical  evenings  as  he  pleases 
without  making  a  sou,  but  the  custom  of  giving  a  benefit 
concert  once  a  year  often  realizes  a  highly  gratifying  sum 
from  the  financial  point  of  view,  the  price  of  a  ticket  be- 
ing ten  francs. 

I  remember  that  Raoul  Pugno  and  I  had  been  engaged 
together  to  play  a  number  of  concerts  outside  of  Paris 
by  societies  in  the  provincial  cities  and  he  proposed  to  me 
that  we  give  a  concert  in  Paris  together.  I  accepted 
with  pleasure,  dividing  the  tickets  between  us,  and  each 
one  disposing  of  his  share  of  them.  A  few  days  before 
the  date  my  side  of  the  hall  was  sold  out,  but  Pugno 
said  to  me :  "  What  a  pity !  My  tickets  are  selling  very 
poorly."  To  which  I  replied :  "  It  would  be  a  pity  for 
me  to  make  money  and  you  to  make  none."  He  said : 
"Don't  we  divide?"  I  said:  "My  tickets  have  been 
taken  by  my  friends  for  whom  I  have  been  playing  for 
nothing."  The  next  day  he  took  a  cab  and  went  about 
among  his  friends,  with  the  result  that  the  whole  of  the 
hall  was  sold  out.  This  was  at  the  Salle  Pleyel,  Rue 
Rochechouart. 

The  concert  hall  of  the  Conservatoire  National  de 
Musique  was  very  small,  but  the  acoustics  were  consid- 


MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  49 

ered  better  than  those  of  any  concert  hall  in  the  world, 
and  the  seats  are  handed  down  from  father  to  son.  No 
stranger  could  obtain  a  seat  at  any  price.  The  orchestra 
is  composed  of  the  professors  of  the  Conservatoire  and 
its  pupils  who  are  laureates.  All  the  stringed  instru- 
ments are  of  Italian  make  and  any  musician  who  does 
not  possess  an  Italian  instrument  has  to  use  one  belonging 
to  the  Conservatoire,  all  of  which  are  taken  care  of  by 
one  of  the  leading  violin  makers  of  Paris  who  has  the 
title  of  "  Luthier  du  Conservatoire  National."  A  repre- 
sentative of  the  firm  attends  all  concerts  in  his  official 
capacity  to  replace  broken  strings,  etc. 

It  was  said  by  Hans  von  Biilow  and  Richard  Wagner 
that  to  hear  a  symphony  of  Beethoven  perfectly  executed 
one  must  go  to  Paris  and  hear  the  orchestra  of  the  Con- 
servatoire. There  are  concerts  of  the  Conservatoire  every 
Sunday  during  the  winter  season  and  three  rehearsals  for 
each  concert.  The  programs  are  composed  of  works 
for  orchestra ;  very  few  soloists  are  engaged,  but  occa- 
sionally a  work  with  chorus  and  soloists  of  international 
reputation  is  given.  The  artists  of  the  grand  opera  and 
opera  comique  are  nearly  always  from  the  Conservatoire, 
where  they  have  spent  at  least  four  years  in  the  study  of 
singing,  declamation  and  comedy,  and  this  explains  why 
all  the  French  artists  are  such  excellent  actors. 

Gabriel  Faure,  now  director  of  the  Conservatoire,  and 
Andre  Messager,  who  created  a  furore  in  America  with 
the  orchestra  of  the  Conservatoire,  and  myself  were  in- 
timate friends  as  far  back  as  1884  and  remained  so  until 
I  left  for  tours  in  foreign  countries.  Gabriel  Faure 
wrote  a  concerto  for  violin  which  I  played  with  Colonne 


so  MY  MEMORIES 

and  his  orchestra, —  a  beautiful  work.  Among  others 
of  his  works,  such  as  his  sonata  for  the  piano  and  vioHn, 
which  I  played  with  him,  quartettes,  orchestral  composi- 
tions, songs,  choruses,  etc.,  there  was  a  Berceuse  for  the 
violin  with  piano  accompaniment,  but  I  played  it  with 
the  orchestra.  Faure  brought  this  piece  to  me  and  I  put 
the  fingering  and  bowing  in  as  it  was  published  later  on. 
This  little  gem  made  a  furore  in  Paris  and  its  effect  on 
such  great  artists  and  musicians  as  Camille  Saint-Saens 
may  be  judged  by  the  following  translation  of  his  letter 
written  to  me  a  few  months  ago : 

Translation  of  a  Letter  From  Camille  Saint- 
Saens  TO  OVIDE  MusiN 

Feb.  5th,  1919. 
Lelammam,  R'ithra, 

Department  d' Alger,  Feb.  5th,  19 19. 
My  dear  Musin  : — 

Here  is  something  which  will  surprise  you.  I  dreamed 
of  you  last  night,  and  how  happy  I  was  to  see  you  again. 
I  recalled  you  as  you  played  the  Berceuse  of  Faure  at 
my  house  in  the  old  days,  with  that  tasteful  simplicity, 
that  inimitable  naivete,  and  that  natural  charm  which  no 
amount  of  work  is  able  to  give.  May  I  often  have 
dreams  like  this. 

I  am  now  eighty-three,  and  I  do  not  believe  I  shall 
ever  revisit  America,  and  so  I  shall  never  see  you  again; 
and  I  shall  never  know  Madame  Musin  whom  I  have 
never  seen.  I  had,  however,  a  great  desire  to  go  and 
present  my  respects  to  her;  but  you  will  remember  the 
terrible  heat  during  my  sojourn  in  July,  and  my  courage 


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I'lKsr  i.i:i  ri'R  autographic 

SAINT-SAEXS 


MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  51 

was  not  equal  to  it.     Present  her  my  regrets  and  let  me 
embrace  you  as  in  the  old  days. 

C.  Saint-Saens. 
At  Paris, 
Rue  de  Courcelles  83  bis  (lyn) 

Jean  Faure 

In  1876,  the  great  baritone  of  the  Grand  Opera  in 
Paris  made  his  first  tour  in  the  provinces;  and  having 
always  sung  in  Paris  at  the  Opera  or  in  London  at  the  Co- 
vent  Garden  Opera  House,  his  reputation  was  great.  The 
manager  of  that  tour  was  Jarret,  not  the  Jarret  of  Jarret 
and  Palmer,  American  management,  but  the  one  of 
London  who  managed  Christine  Nilsson  and  Zelia  Tre- 
belli.  Jarrett  engaged  Faure  and  the  whole  company 
and  the  assistant  manager  was  Potier,  who  after  this  tour 
became  Director  of  the  opera  in  Bordeaux.  Potier 
recommended  me  to  Jarrett  and  then  began  the  best  en- 
gagements,—  best  from  the  financial  point  of  view, — 
which  I  had  had  so  far.  The  contract  was  for  three 
months,  three  or  four  concerts  a  week,  for  France  and 
Switzerland.  The  company  was  composed  of  Faure, 
baritone;  Levy,  tenor;  Bronden,  basso;  the  Badia  sisters, 
soprano  and  contralto;  Henry  Ketten,  pianist;  Musin, 
violinist,  and  Adolph  Libotton,  'cellist.  I  remember  that 
concert  tour  as  one  of  the  pleasantest  I  ever  had.  On  the 
train  we  used  to  play  "  Ecarte."  No  betting  was  allowed 
and  the  limit  was  five  francs  a  game,  which  is  a  short  one 
as  only  two  could  play  and  for  only  five  points,  so  the 
loser  would  pass  the  game  to  another  player  and,  in  this 
way,  the  time  passed  rapidly.     We  had  a  special  car  so 


52  MY  MEMORIES 

that  we  were  always  together.  The  ladies  were  in  an- 
other compartment;  the  sisters  with  their  mother  and 
Mrs.  Levy. 

In  Bordeaux  there  are  peddlers  who  sell  oysters  in  the 
streets  and  very  good  ones,  called  Maraines.  We  used 
to  go  into  the  street  and  eat  a  dozen  or  more  each,  freshly 
opened  up  by  the  peddlers ;  and  then  go  back  to  the  hotel 
for  dinner,  where  we  ate  "  Cepes  of  Bordeaux."  This  is 
a  dish  which  is  famous  in  the  southern  part  of  France. 
It  consists  of  large  mushrooms  cooked  in  oil  with  garlic, 
and  the  southerners  do  not  mind  the  flavor  which  it  leaves 
on  the  breath  for  the  benefit  of  any  one  near  them. 

In  the  leading  hotels  of  France  they  used  to  give  us 
two  bougies  (candles)  in  our  bedrooms  and  charged  two 
francs  for  them  (forty  cents),  when  they  were  really 
not  worth  eight  cents,  so  we  all  took  the  ends  away  with 
us  for  a  reception  later  on.  After  a  few  weeks  each 
of  us  had  a  little  store  of  candles.  When  we  had  been 
out  about  six  weeks,  the  sixth  week  of  the  tour  and 
were  in  Bordeaux  at  the  Hotel  du  Palais,  Ketten  gave 
a  reception.  He  had  taken  all  the  candles  out  of  his 
trunk,  placed  them  all  about  his  room  and  lighted  them, 
and  then  came  to  tell  us  that  the  illumination  was  ready. 
Unfortunately,  one  of  them  had  been  placed  too  near 
a  curtain  which  took  fire.  There  was  great  excitement, 
but  luckily  we  were  many  and  with  buckets  of  water  we 
put  out  the  fire.  But  Ketten  had  to  pay  for  the  curtains 
next  day. 

In  1876,  Henry  Ketten  was  one  of  the  greatest  pianists. 
He  made  a  fortune  in  Australia  in  four  months  and  was 
compared  by  the  London  press  with  the  great  Rubin- 


MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  53 

stein.  He  began  his  career  when  he  was  a  child,  so  gifted 
was  he.  But  his  nerves,  having  been  overtaxed  when  he 
was  so  young,  were  left  in  a  shaky  condition,  called  in 
French  Danse  de  St.  Guy.  I  often  heard  him  say  that 
all  the  fathers  of  youthful  prodigies  ought  to  be  hanged, 
his  own  to  begin  with.  His  "  tic  "  nearly  got  us  into 
trouble  in  Nimes ;  and  here  is  the  funny  experience. 

The  concert  began  with  the  first  two  parts  of  a  trio 
by  Sterndale  Bennett,  an  English  composer,  and  closed 
with  the  finale  of  the  same  trio.  The  number  before  the 
last  on  the  program  was  "  Les  Rameaux  "  (The  Palms) 
sung  by  the  composer,  Jean  Faure.  This  was  encored 
several  times  and  the  public  wanted  the  aria  of  Hamlet 
(Ambroise  Thomas)  ;  and  from  every  part  of  that  packed 
theater  came  cries  of  "  Ham-me-lett,  Ham-me-lett." 
Amid  the  mingled  applause  and  hisses,  we  came  on 
the  stage  to  play  the  last  part  of  the  trio.  But  we  could 
not  hear  ourselves,  so  we  left  the  stage ;  and  the  Regis- 
seur  of  the  theater  came  on  to  announce  that  Mr.  Faure 
was  tired  and  had  left  the  theater.  We  came  out  again 
to  play  and  when  Ketten  sat  down  at  the  piano,  his  head 
was  jerking;  and  a  voice  from  the  audience  called  out 
loudly:  "Est-ce  que  vous  vous  fichez  de  nous?  "  (Are 
you  mocking  us?)  and  the  pianist  with  his  "  tic  "  looked 
up  at  the  audience  and  the  movement  of  his  face  seemed 
to  say  "  Yes."  The  result  was  that  we  were  greeted 
with  such  a  violent  uproar  that  I  left  and  ran  to  the  art^ 
ists'  room,  quickly  put  my  violin  in  its  case  and  took  the 
first  carriage  I  could  get  to  take  me  back  to  the  hotel. 
All  the  others  did  the  same  and  we  were  all  gathered  in 
Faure's  parlor  talking  it  over  wh^n  we  heard  a  tremen- 


54  MY  MEMORIES 

dous  noise  of  breaking  windows.  Every  pane  in  that  part 
of  the  hotel  was  smashed  and  the  crowd  in  the  streets 
and  in  the  square  kept  crying  "  Ham-me-lett,  Ham-me- 
lett,"  etc.,  until  they  had  fully  expressed  their  desire,  and 
the  bill  for  broken  windows  was  paid  by  Faure.  The 
people  of  Nimes  are  a  hot-headed  lot,  and  want  to  have 
their  own  way  and  their  money's  worth,  too,  but  our 
great  surprise  came  the  next  day,  when  Libotton,  who 
had  worn  a  beautiful  full  beard,  appeared  completely 
shaved  clean  like  an  American.  The  idea  was  that  he 
would  thus  be  disguised  in  case  the  crowd  should  be 
waiting  for  us  at  the  station  to  make  us  go  back  and 
finish  that  Trio  which  they  had  missed  the  night  before, 
a  similar  affair  having  occurred  more  than  once  in  Nimes. 
Nimes  is  a  beautiful  city  inland  and  is  celebrated  for  its 
ancient  Roman  arena  where  the  bull  fights  once  took 
place.  Our  experience  there  with  the  demonstration  on 
account  of  Faure  was  related  and  exaggerated  in  all  the 
Paris  papers  the  next  day.  I  received  several  letters 
from  friends  asking  about  the  trouble.  Faure  received 
a  telegram  from  his  wife,  who  was  in  Paris.  She  feared 
he  had  been  hurt.  Others  also  received  letters  asking 
about  their  safety.  So  the  episode  attracted  attention 
elsewhere  than  in  Nimes. 

During  the  tour,  Faure  told  us  what  happened  to  him 
with  Boldini  and  Manet,  two  celebrated  painters.  But 
first  I  must  say  that  Faure  was  a  good  business  man  and 
as  he  made  a  lot  of  money  by  singing,  he  bought  a  num- 
ber of  villas  in  Etretat,  a  summer  resort  between  Dieppe 
and  Havre,  which  he  furnished  and  rented  for  the  sum- 
.mer  seasons.     I  was  told  that  he  made  a  lot  of  money 


MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  55 

from  his  villas  and  also  buying  and  selling  paintings. 
He  would  make  contracts  with  painters  of  reputation  to 
furnish  him  with  so  many  pictures  every  year.  Two  of 
them  were  Boldini  and  Manet  of  Paris.  The  latter's 
"  Bon  Bock,"  representing  a  man  holding  a  foaming 
glass  of  beer,  was  celebrated.  He  was  considered  an 
innovator  in  painting.  Boldini's  line  was  for  portraits 
and  salons  with  parquets,  mirrors,  curtains  and  figures. 
His  works  already  brought  good  prices  in  1875.  Boldini, 
learning  that  Faure  also  had  a  contract  with  Manet,  told 
Faure  that  he  had  made  a  bad  bargain  as  Manet  was 
overrated.  One  day  Faure  repeated  to  Manet  what 
Boldini  had  said  and  Manet  answered :  "  What  you  say 
of  Boldini's  opinion  of  my  work  does  not  surprise  me  one 
bit,  for  he  also  says  that  he  can  sing  better  than  you 
do." 

Speaking  of  painters  reminds  me  of  a  story  concern- 
ing a  young  man  who  had  more  money  than  brains  and 
a  painter  who  had  as  much  perspicacity  as  talent.  Here 
is  the  dialogue  which  took  place  between  them : 

Dialogue  between  Painter  and  Young  Man. 

The  Painter:  What  gives  me  the  honor  of  your  visit, 
sir? 

The  Young  Man:  I  came  to  ask  if  you  could  make 
the  portrait  life  size  of  my  father. 

The  Painter:     Well,  sir,  send  me  your  father. 

The  Young  Man :     But  he  is  dead ! 

The  Painter :     Have  you  a  good  photograph  of  him  ? 

The  Young  Man:  If  I  had  his  photograph  I  would 
not  need  his  portrait. 


56  MY  MEMORIES 

The  Painter:  How  can  I  make  his  portrait  without 
the  original  or  his  picture? 

The  Young  Man:  I  thought  that  if  I  could  give  you 
an  exact  description  of  him,  you  could  make  a  good  like- 
ness. My  father  was  sixty-five  years  old,  five  feet, 
seven  inches  tall,  weighed  a  hundred  and  sixty-five 
pounds ;  had  short  gray  hair,  also  a  gray  moustache ; 
rather  thin,  a  Bourbon  nose.  He  was  a  distinguished 
man.  He  always  wore  a  Prince  Albert  coat.  I  am  sure 
you  could  make  such  a  portrait. 

The  Painter:  I  can  make  a  portrait  with  your  de- 
scription, but  it  will  cost  you  five  thousand  francs,  three 
thousand  paid  in  advance. 

The  Young  Man :  Certainly,  sir,  here  are  three  thou- 
sand francs.  When  shall  I  come  for  it?  My  father 
died  two  weeks  ago  and  I  long  to  see  him. 

The  Painter:  Come  in  one  week  and  it  will  be  fin- 
ished. 

One  week  later  the  young  man  came  to  get  the  por- 
trait of  his  father. 

The  Young  Man:     Is  the  portrait  finished,  sir? 

The  Painter :  Yes,  sir.  It  is  behind  the  curtain. 
May  I  hope  you  will  be  strong? 

The  Young  Man :  Yes,  sir,  I  am  a  strong  man.  I  can 
stand  anything. 

The  Painter:  (Draws  the  curtain  with  a  theatrical 
gesture  and,  in  a  melodramatic  voice)  :  Sir,  there  is 
your  father! 

The  Young  Man :  Oh !  oh !  How  he  has  changed  in 
three  weeks! 

The  young   man   paid   the   balance, —  two   thousand. 


MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  PARIS  57 

francs  — with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  the  perspicacious 
painter  pocketed  it  with  a  restrained  smile. 
Se  non  e  verdi,  e  ben  Trovatore ! 


CHAPTER  VI 

ENGAGEMENT    WITH    COLONEL   MAPLESON 

A  FEW  weeks  after  the  Jean  Faure  tour  I  had  an  agree- 
able surprise.  Jarrett  and  Col.  Mapleson,  Sr.,  were  great 
friends,  and  through  Jarrett's  complimentary  mention  of 
me  to  the  Colonel,  I  received  a  letter  from  him  asking 
me  to  come  and  see  him  at  the  Hotel  Vendome  in  Paris. 
This  was  the  same  hotel  at  which  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
later  on  King  of  England,  had  stayed.  In  less  than  half 
an  hour  I  had  a  contract  for  a  tour  in  England,  Scotland 
and  Ireland,  with  Her  Majesty's  Opera  Concert  Com- 
pany. Theresa  Titiens  was  the  big  card,  and  there  was 
besides  a  quartette  of  men ;  tenor,  baritone,  basso  and 
buffo,  and  a  quartette  of  ladies;  high  soprano,  soprano, 
mezzo  soprano  and  contralto,  one  pianist,  and  solo 
violinist.  Ten  artists  in  all.  Mapleson  had  every  year 
a  concert  tour  of  ten  weeks,  and  then  continued  with 
Opera  in  every  big  city  in  Great  Britain.  This  con- 
tract was  to  begin  in  October,  and  after  I  had  signed  with 
Mapleson  about  the  end  of  May,  I  received  a  long  tele- 
gram from  Potier,  Director  of  the  Grand  Theater  at 
Bordeaux,  asking  me  to  form  a  quartette  for  the  King, 
Guillaume  of  Holland,  who  was  at  that  time  at  Bagnieres 
de  Luchon,  in  the  French  Pyrenees;  and  on  the  1st  of 
June,  1877,  I  presented  my  respects  and  my  associates  to 
King  Guillaume.  .My  associates  were  Catermole,  2nd 
violin ;  Chausson,  viola ;  and  Mariotti,  cellist.     We  played 

S8 


ENGAGEMENT  WITH  COL.  MAPLESON     59 

quartette  for  the  King  three  times  a  week  —  strictly 
private  concerts  —  and  the  engagement  lasted  for  two 
months.  On  two  occasions  we  were  invited  by  the  King 
to  dine  with  him  at  the  villa  where  he  was  staying  and 
where  we  gave  the  concerts,  and  after  dinner  we  played 
quartette,  although  I  very  often  played  solos  also.  Bag- 
nieres  de  Luchon  is  a  very  exclusive  summer  resort  fre- 
quented by  French  Noblesse  and  Spanish  Grandees,  also 
gamblers.  Hotels  and  gambling  houses  line  both  sides 
of  the  long  street  or  sort  of  allee  shut  in  between  very 
high  mountains.  At  first  I  liked  this  place;  but  after 
a  time  I  felt  like  a  prisoner  at  large  and  longed  to  see 
a  plain  once  more  for  a  change.  This  feeling  was  so 
strong  in  me  that  after  the  engagement  I  could  not  have 
stayed  there  any  longer  even  for  double  the  money,  al- 
though the  King  was  most  charming  and  gave  me  the 
"  Order  of  Merit  "  of  Holland.  While  there  I  was  in- 
vited to  become  an  honorary  member  of  "  The  Alpine 
Club,"  but  in  order  to  do  so  I  had  to  make  an  ascension. 
I  started  therefore  to  climb  a  mountain,  and  when  I  ar- 
rived at  the  top  of  that  one  there  was  another  still  higher; 
and  when  I  had  scaled  that  one  I  found  the  job  of  going 
higher  was  too  much  for  me ;  so  I  gave  it  up  and  took  to 
horseback  riding.  We  would  ride  frequently  over  into 
Spain,  as  Bagnieres  was  only  about  an  hour  and  a  half 
by  horseback  from  the  boundary  line.  I  remember  the 
pleasure  I  had  on  leaving  Bagnieres  to  go  back  to  Paris, 
where  on  the  way  I  saw  open  country.  I  felt  free  once 
more  and  I  could  breathe.  My  associates  in  the  quar- 
tette left  me  at  Toulouse  and  from  Bordeaux  to  Paris 
I  made  the  journey  with  Talasac,  the  celebrated  tenor 


6o  MY  MEMORIES 

of  the  Opera  Comique,  and  we  had  a  jolly  time  and  a 
really  pleasant  journey. 

Leonard  at  Liege,   1870.     Some  Pupils 

As  I  have  already  stated,  Henry  Leonard  was  at  the 
head  of  the  department  for  violin  at  the  Royal  Conserva- 
toire of  Liege,  and  there  were  several  good  violinists  who 
came  from  other  countries  and  cities  to  study  with  him. 
Among  them  was  Monasterio,  the  Spaniard,  Consolo, 
from  Constantinople  and  Stopplear  from  Ghent,  Bel- 
gium. Stopplear  was  the  best  of  all.  One  day  he  came 
to  Leonard  and  said  he  would  like  to  go  to  Berlin  to  take 
lessons  from  Joachim  and  asked  Leonard  to  give  him  a 
letter  of  introduction. 

Leonard  and  Joachim  were  friends ;  and  Leonard  was 
a  large-hearted  artist,  large  in  his  ideas,  realizing  that 
experience  is  a  great  teacher.  He  therefore  gave  Stop- 
plear the  letter  to  Joachim  "  with  much  pleasure,"  as  he 
said. 

About  three  years  after,  I  received  a  note  from  Leon- 
ard inviting  me  to  breakfast  at  9  a.  m.,  and  saying  that 
Stopplear  was  back  from  Berlin  and  was  coming  to  play 
for  him.  The  breakfast  was  the  regular  Belgian  break- 
fast of  coffee,  bread  and  butter  and  sirop.  Sirop  is  a 
sort  of  jam  or  jelly  which  is  spread  on  the  bread  and 
butter.     Belgians  are  very  fond  of  it. 

I  found  the  invitation  very  agreeable,  not  so  much  on 
account  of  the  sirop,  or  the  fact  that  I  was  honored  with 
an  invitation  from  the  great  Leonard, —  which  was  a 
frequent  occurrence, —  but   because  we   expected   some- 


ENGAGEMENT  WITH  COL.  MAPLESON      6i 

thing  tremendous  from  Stopplear;  and  I  accepted  with 
alacrity. 

Stopplear  played  the  Concerto  of  Beethoven  and  the 
Chaconne  of  Bach,  and  when  he  left  Leonard  I  went  with 
him  as  far  as  Boulevard  du  Clichy,  and  there  we  sepa- 
rated. I  went  back  to  Leonard  and,  not  able  to  restrain 
my  astonishment,  I  exclaimed :  "  Maitre,  when  Stop- 
plear was  in  Liege  he  played  better  than  any  of  us,  but 
now  I  play  better  than  he  does." 

Leonard  laid  aside  his  pipe  a  moment  and  replied : 
"  It  is  extraordinary  how  his  playing  has  changed.  All 
his  feeling  and  enthusiasm  are  gone  and  he  plays  like  a 
piece  of  wood." 

Joachim  as  a  teacher  for  soloists  has  been  a  failure. 
He  has  made  a  lot  of  concert-masters,  but  few  virtuosos ; 
and  when  one  considered  that  he  had  nearly  all  of  the 
greatest  natures  from  every  country  (every  boy  or  girl 
of  talent  who  had  financial  backing  went  to  Joachim) 
you  can  realize  that  one  can  be  a  great  player  but  a  bad 
teacher.  The  test  of  good  teaching  is  to  make  a  pupil 
learn  his  own  innate  but  uncomprehended  qualities  and 
develop  the  latent  artistic  personality  of  each  and  every 
pupil,  and  not  try  to  make  them  imitate  you  in  every- 
thing. This  is  where  Joachim  failed,  as  he  wanted  his 
pupils  to  copy  him. 

One  of  the  last  pupils  of  Leonard  was  Bernard  Sin- 
sheimer,  now  in  New  York  at  the  head  of  a  quartette 
and  a  violin  school. 


62  MY  MEMORIES 

House  Warming  in  Rue  Jacob,  No.  28,  Paris 

Camille  Depret,  intimate  friend  of  Gambetta,  and  im- 
mensely rich,  was  a  true  dilettante  for  music  and  very 
often  gave  musicales  at  his  palatial  home  at  26  rue  Jacob 
in  Paris,  during  the  winter ;  and  in  the  summer  he  would 
go  with  his  large  family  of  eight  children  to  his  chateau 
at  Fontainebleau,  where  I  was  his  guest  for  a  month 
every  year. 

From  rue  Cadet  where  I  was  Hving  it  was  quite  a  dis- 
tance to  Depret's  mansion  in  rue  Jacob  where  I  went 
very  often,  and  he  suggested  that  I  should  rent  an  apart- 
ment just  next  door  at  No.  28.  It  happened  that  there 
was  a  beautiful  apartment  vacant  at  the  moment  on  the 
second  floor.  As  this  house  No.  28  was  also  owned  by 
Depret,  I  was  able  to  rent  the  apartment  very  cheap  at 
1500  francs  or  about  three  hundred  dollars  per  year. 
There  was  a  big  salon,  bedroom,  kitchen,  office,  etc.,  and 
all  the  doors  were  mirrors  from  top  to  bottom ;  the  fur- 
nishings were  rich  and  it  was  really,  as  Americans  says, 
*'  swell."  When  I  moved  into  it  I  did  not  move  again 
until  I  gave  up  the  apartment  on  coming  to  America  in 
1884. 

At  Camille  Depret's  I  met  many  artists  and  poets  and 
novelists.  Among  them  was  Jules  Verne,  and  the  Het- 
sels,  father  and  son, —  his  publishers ;  Gabriel  Faure, 
Leonard,  Messager,  Mariotti  the  'cellist,  Bourguignon, 
proprietor  of  a  Paris  journal,  and  many  other  celebrities, 
who  came  to  the  Musicals ;  but  at  his  grand  receptions  all 
the  Ministers  of  State  were  present. 

One  evening  at  Depret's  house  he  advised  me  to  give 


ENGAGEMENT  WITH  COL.  MAPLESON     63 

a  Stag  Party  as  a  house  warming.  Jules  Verne  and 
the  Hetsels  were  present,  and  I  invited  them,  and  Depret 
said  he  would  come  also;  and  on  the  strength  of  this  I 
invited  Leonard,  Faure.  Sandre,  Beauvais  de  Vaux  (a 
celebrated  lawyer),  and  Bourguignon,  and  all  accepted. 

Just  opposite  No.  26,  was  a  Brasserie  Strasbourgeoise, 
which  gave  excellent  meals  with  beer,  for  four  francs  a 
plate.  I  ordered  a  nice  dejeuner  for  our  party  of  ten, 
to  be  served  at  2  p.  m.,  and  Depret  loaned  me  three  of 
his  servants  for  the  occasion.  There  was  a  menu,  and 
I  have  often  regretted  that  I  did  not  ask  my  guests  to 
sign  their  names ;  for  at  twenty- four  years  of  age  I  en- 
tertained at  my  table  some  men  whose  names  are  im- 
mortal, real  "  Immortels." 

Lambert  Massart,  born  in  Liege,  was  one  of  the  great 
teachers  in  Paris  and  successor  at  the  Conservatoire  of 
some  of  the  great  lights  in  the  violin  world  —  Gavinies, 
Viotti,  Rode,  Baillot  and  Kreutzer.  Rudolph  Kreutzer, 
although  of  Austrian  parentage,  was  born  at  Versailles 
and  lived  in  Paris  all  his  life.  Kreutzer's  esteem  and 
affection  for  his  pupil  is  shown  in  his  act  of  making  Mas- 
sart heir  of  all  his  wonderful  instruments,  bows,  etc. 
Some  of  those  were  inherited  by  his  nephew  Leon  Mas- 
sart, the  'cellist,  for  many  years  professor  at  the  Liege 
Conservatoire  —  from  whom  I  obtained  several  valuable 
violins,  and  six  Francois  Tourte  bows ;  also  an  Italian 
violin,  the  back  of  which  is  wormeaten.  I  have  reason 
to  believe  that  this  old  Cremona  was  the  concert  violin 
used  by  Kreutzer  before  he  played  his  Stradivarius.  He 
had  evidently  put  this  instrument  away  in  the  garret  and 
neglected  it.     I  keep  this  violin  as  a  sacred  relic.     There 


64  MY  MEMORIES 

is  enough  Italian  varnish  on  it  to  guarantee  its  authen- 
ticity. 

The  most  celebrated  pupils  of  Massart  were  Henri 
Wieniawski,  Sauret,  Camilla  Urso,  Fournier  and 
Kreisler.  While  walking  in  the  street  with  his  friends, 
Massart  had  the  habit  of  stopping  at  intervals,  while 
talking.  He  would  take  a  few  steps,  stand  and  talk, 
then  a  step  or  two  more  and  so  on.  One  day  I  met  him 
on  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  Poissoniere  when  he  was  just 
coming  out  of  the  Conservatoire.  This  was  about  1876. 
It  took  us  about  a  half  hour  to  cover  two  blocks.  Among 
other  things  he  related  to  me  personal  occurrences  in  New 
York.  One  of  his  pupils  had  to  play  in  an  important 
concert,  but  was  prevented  by  an  accident.  But  staying 
in  the  same  hotel  was  another  pupil  of  his  who  took  the 
place  of  the  first  mentioned;  this  was  no  other  than  Ca- 
milla Urso,  whose  acquaintance  I  made  years  later  in 
New  York  and  to  whom  I  related  the  incident,  and  she 
said  it  was  true. 

One  of  the  most  artistic  families  in  Belgium  is  the 
family  of  Massart;  and  among  their  peculiarities  is  that 
they  become  baldheaded  very  young.  This  reminds  me 
of  a  joke  which  was  played  on  a  cousin  of  Lambert,  the 
top  of  whose  head  was  as  bald  as  a  billiard  ball.  Lam- 
bert, Massart's  cousin,  was  a  viola  player,  and  one  night 
in  passing  between  the  stands  to  take  his  place  in  the 
orchestra,  one  of  the  musicians  blew  on  his  bald  pate  and 
Massart,  highly  indignant,  turned  about  and  demanded : 

"What's  the  matter?     Why  did  you  do  that?" 

The  muscian  said:  "I  beg  your  pardon;  excuse  me, 
sir,  but  I  thought  I  saw  one  hair !  " 


ENGAGEMENT  WITH  COL.  MAPLESON     65 

Brindis  de  Salas 

Among  Leonard's  pupils  in  Paris  was  one  "  type," 
as  we  say  in  French,  most  extraordinary,  called  Brindis 
de  Salas,  who  afterwards  made  his  career  in  Europe  as 
a  violinist.  He  was  as  black  as  the  ace  of  spades,  and 
when  we  were  on  the  streets  of  Paris  together,  every  one 
would  turn  around  and  stare  after  him.  He  used  to 
play  with  a  very  eccentric  style  of  bowing,  many  flour- 
ishes, etc.  When  I  asked  Leonard :  "  Why  do  you  let 
him  play  like  that?"  Leonard  said:  "He  plays  like  a 
negro  —  the  difference  in  nature;  if  he  were  to  play  as 
you  do,  it  would  not  make  any  impression." 

He  had  a  good  technique  but  his  style  was  too  ex- 
aggerated. He  was  covered  with  orders;  and  when  the 
old  Emperor  William  of  Germany  gave  a  dinner  at  the 
palace,  to  which  de  Salas  was  invited,  and  on  his  being 
presented  to  the  Emperor,  the  latter  exclaimed :  "  He 
is  more  decorated  than  I  am."  It  was  incomprehensible 
how  he  could  have  been  invited  by  the  Emperor  and  sur- 
prising how  he  came  to  have  so  many  orders. 

The  day  after  the  papers  in  Berlin  reported  the  Em- 
peror's dinner  as  given  to  de  Salas,  the  Cuban  violinist. 
Meeting  a  friend  in  the  street,  who  congratulated  him 
on  the  great  honor  he  had  received,  de  Salas  replied : 
"  I  am  not  at  all  satisfied ;  he  made  me  dine  with  the 
servants."  The  "  servants  "  by  the  way  were  the  Count 
von  Munter,  German  Ambassador  to  England,  the  Cham- 
berlain of  the  Emperor,  and  other  high  officials.  This 
caused  a  great  deal  of  comment  in  court  circles  through- 
out Germany. 


66  MY  MEMORIES 

De  Salas  was  engaged  as  soloist  at  three  of  the  TivoU 
concerts  at  Copenhagen.  It  was  customary  for  the  so- 
ciety to  send  a  carriage  for  the  artist  to  the  Hotel  d'Angle- 
terre,  which  is  in  the  big  square.  Unfortunately,  there 
were  two  white  horses  attached  to  the  carriage.  When 
de  Salas  came  out  of  the  hotel,  seeing  the  white  horses, 
he  said:  "  Is  that  an  insinuation  because  I  am  black?  " 
He  refused  to  enter  the  carriage  until  the  white  horses 
had  been  exchanged  for  black  ones! 

It  has  always  been  a  puzzle  to  us  that  a  negro  could 
have  received  so  many  orders  from  Kings.  But  an  in- 
cident that  happened  in  that  same  hotel  in  Copenhagen 
made  me  believe  that  he  was  a  scion  of  a  high  family  in 
Cuba.  I  heard  that  Bagnoli,  also  a  pupil  of  Leonard, 
met  de  Salas  there  and  during  a  conversation  said  to 
him:  "Your  hands  are  black;  don't  you  think  that  if 
you  were  to  scrape  them  with  a  knife,  they  would  be- 
come white  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  mean?  "  said  de  Salas.  "  Do  you  mean 
to  insult  me?  I  am  a  Chevaher  (knight),  not  a  knight 
like  one  who  carries  a  button  on  his  coat.  I  am  a  born 
knight!  "  And  de  Salas  became  so  aggressive  that  Bag- 
noli excused  himself,  ran  to  his  room  and  shut  himself 
in.     He  was  afraid  of  the  negro. 

Experience  in  a  Balloon 

I  was  about  19  years  of  age  when  I  was  engaged  to 
play  at  a  concert  at  Chateau-Thierry  on  a  Saturday  eve- 
ning. The  next  day,  Sunday,  at  the  table  d'hote,  I  met 
Godard,  the  celebrated  aeronaut,  seated  near  me,  and  hav- 
ing no  one  to  go  with  him  on  his  exhibition  flight  for 


ENGAGEMENT  WITH  COL.  MAPLESON     67 

which  he  was  engaged  in  that  town,  and  as  he  knew  me, 
he  invited  me  to  accompany  him  in  his  flight. 

I  was  interested  and  accepted  at  once.  Changing  my 
high  hat  for  a  casquette  or  cap,  I  went  to  the  rendezvous 
at  3  p.  M.  The  whole  town  was  there  as  I  stepped  into 
the  basket  with  him.  This  was  the  500th  ascension  which 
he  had  made  with  his  balloon,  and  I  was  not  at  all  nerv- 
ous at  first  at  going  up  with  such  an  expert.  As  we  left 
the  earth  amidst  the  applause  of  the  crowd,  and  as  things 
began  to  grow  smaller  and  smaller  as  we  ascended,  I 
felt  very  comfortable  and  was  enjoying  the  experience 
until  Godard  said :  "  Excuse  me  for  a  few  moments 
as  I  have  to  make  some  performances  on  the  trapeze." 
As  he  disappeared  over  the  side  of  the  basket,  there  was 
a  violent  jerk  which  rather  upset  my  nerves,  for  in  case 
of  a  misstep  on  his  part,  it  would  be  sure  death  for  him; 
and  I  being  left  alone  with  the  balloon,  what  would  be- 
come of  me?  But  after  much  jerking  and  swaying  of 
the  balloon  and  basket,  to  my  relief  Godard  appeared 
again,  safe  and  sound,  over  the  edge  of  the  basket  and 
lightly  stepped  to  safety. 

Before  starting,  he  had  asked  me  as  a  favor  not  to 
smoke  for  fear  that  a  spark  might  send  us  as  well  as 
the  balloon  up  into  smoke.  We  had  been  up  about  two 
hours,  sailing  along  towards  Soissons,  when  we  began 
to  descend  slowly  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  forest,  and 
Godard  let  drop  some  bags  of  sand.  But  this  did  not 
enable  us  to  escape  the  highest  of  the  trees,  and  as  we 
came  to  an  open  space  between  a  mass  of  trees,  he  let 
fall  the  anchor.  But,  instead  of  striking  the  ground, 
it  lodged  in  a  high  tree,  where  we  swayed  about  violently 


68  MY  MEMORIES 

for  a  time ;  but  luckily  two  men  who  were  passing  along 
came  to  our  assistance  and,  being  able  with  an  effort  to 
get  hold  of  the  rope,  they  pulled  us  down  to  terra  firma ; 
and  Godard  said:  "Now,  Musin,  you  can  climb  out," 
which  I  did  with  alacrity,  and  after  a  walk  of  half  a  mile 
or  so  I  came  to  the  town  of  Soissons,  Godard  remain- 
ing with  his  balloon. 

After  thanking  Godard  for  the  unique  experience,  I 
took  the  train  at  Soissons  for  Chateau-Thierry,  where  I 
got  my  baggage,  and  at  9 150  p.  m.  I  took  the  train  for 
Paris  and  got  there  about  midnight;  but  there  was  no 
sleep  for  me,  as  I  was  so  stirred  up  by  the  extraordinary 
experience,  which  I  would  not  sell  for  five  hundred  dol- 
lars; but  not  even  five  thousand  would  tempt  me  to  do  it 
again.  I  told  Godard  that  the  next  time  he  happened  to 
be  in  Paris  we  must  dine  together,  and  the  same  winter 
it  happened  that  we  were  able  to  keep  the  rendezvous, 
where  I  told  him  my  emotions  experienced  from  my 
first  trip.  He  seemed  to  take  the  matter  very  lightly, 
however,  and  although  it  was  a  mystery  to  me  how  a 
man  could  choose  a  career  of  such  hair-raising  possibili- 
ties, still,  after  many  harrowing  escapes,  Godard  died 
safely  and  quietly  in  his  bed,  at  a  good  old  age. 

Two  Disagreeable  Experiences  of  My  Early  Life 

IN  Paris 

Lopez,  a  Spanish  violinist  and  a  pupil  of  Leonard,  two 
friends  of  his,  and  Gonzales,  an  extraordinary  cartoon- 
ist, invited  me  to  dinner  and  afterwards  to  make  a  tour 
of  the  boulevards.  We  dined,  and  when  the  cafes  be- 
gan to  close  up,  we  walked  about  until  we  found  a  place 


ENGAGEMENT  WITH  COL.  MAPLESON     69 

which  was  still  open,  but  at  that  late  hour  it  was  only 
in  and  about  the  halles  that  we  could  expect  to  get  some 
claret  after  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  To  get  into  this 
cafe  we  had  to  go  down  a  flight  of  steps  from  the  street, 
and  in  order  to  understand  the  character  of  the  place 
and  neighborhood,  I  must  tell  you  that  the  glasses  were 
attached  to  the  tables  by  chains.  Towards  the  rear  of 
the  room  there  were  seated  four  fellows  who  made  a 
very  unfavorable  impression  on  us,  as  being  of  the 
Apaches,  the  worst  class  in  Paris.  We  ordered  our 
wine,  but  in  a  few  minutes  these  fellows  got  up  and  came 
towards  us  as  though  to  hold  us  up  and  rob  us,  Gon- 
zales was  an  expert  in  manipulating  his  poignard  in  the 
Spanish  way.  The  poignard  is  attached  to  a  cord  and 
when  thrown  in  the  distance  it  can  be  pulled  back  again. 
So,  when  those  fellows  made  for  us,  in  less  than  a  minute 
Lopez  had  two  of  them  down  wallowing  in  their  own 
blood.  The  other  Apaches  grabbed  chairs,  trying  to 
brain  us,  but  we  five  retaliated,  and  seeing  that  their 
own  companions  were  done  for,  they  fell  on  their  knees 
begging  for  mercy.  When  the  air  cleared  a  little,  Lopez's 
friend  was  found  to  be  badly  wounded.  I  omitted  to  say 
that  when  we  found  out  the  kind  of  a  place  we  had  gotten 
into  and  tried  to  get  out,  we  found  the  door  had  been 
locked  and  that  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  make  a  fight 
for  our  lives.  When  we  lifted  our  unconscious  friend, 
who  was  covered  with  blood,  to  carry  him  up  to  the  street, 
the  door  was  still  locked  but  a  woman  ran  up  and  un- 
locked it  and,  going  up,  we  carried  him  along  until  we 
came  to  Place  St.  Eustache,  where  we  were  accosted  by 
an  agent  of  the  police.     He  could  see  who  we  were  and 


70  MY  MEMORIES 

said:  "Why  do  you  go  to  such  places?"  We  related 
how  it  had  happened,  and  calling  a  cab  we  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  our  comrade  to  his  lodging  and  pro- 
cured a  surgeon  to  attend  to  his  wounds.  This  was  a 
lesson  in  venturing  too  hardily  about  parts  of  Paris,  and 
an  experience  I  have  never  forgotten. 

Early  Incident  in  Paris  Life 

In  November  of  the  third  year  in  Paris,  I  had  a  very 
disagreeable  experience.  One  night  about  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  I  was  awakened  by  the  police  rapping  on  my 
door,  saying:  "  Au  nom  de  la  loi  ouvrez."  (In  the 
name  of  the  law,  open). 

I  opened  and  two  agents  de  police  (two  policemen) 
came  in  and  asked  me  a  thousand  questions,  went  through 
all  my  clothes,  my  linen,  my  letters,  asked  my  name,  if 
I  was  a  Belgian,  when  I  came  to  Paris,  if  I  had  had  a 
fight  with  a  man  at  the  Brasserie  Fontaine,  Rue  Fon- 
taine. I  told  them  that  I  knew  nothing  about  it,  that  I 
had  retired  at  1 1  o'clock.  The  whole  search  took  them 
about  two  hours. 

A  man  had  been  stabbed  at  the  Brasserie  by  a  young 
Belgian  and  his  description,  it  seems,  resembled  me  some- 
what. At  any  rate,  I  was  for  two  days  under  the  police 
guard  until  they  found  the  guilty  one,  who  was  not  3, 
Belgian  but  a  Gcrmmi  who  was  registered  as  an  Alsatian 
and  who  was  really  a  German  from  Hanover.  I  learned 
this  from  my  concierge  (janitor)  of  Rue  Cadet  No.  2q^ 


CHAPTER  VII 

"  CARMEN  " 

I  HAVE  read  many  criticisms  and  comments  on  the  fail- 
ure and  success  of  the  opera  "  Carmen,"  of  Bizet,  but 
not  one  of  them  has  given  a  satisfactory  reason  for  its 
failure  and  success  because  some  important  details  have 
always  been  missing. 

I  have  been  in  a  position  by  my  relation,  to  know  the 
inside  cause  of  this  failure  which  caused  the  premature 
death  of  that  genial  composer,  Bizet. 

I  used  to  go  to  the  last  rehearsals  with  Bizet,  who  made 
his  observations  from  one  corner  of  the  balcony. 

"  Carmen  "  was  produced  in  Paris  in  1875,  at  the  Opera 
Comique,  and  the  cast  of  principals  was: 

Carmen,  Galli-Marie;  Micaela,  Mile.  Chapuy;  Don 
Jose,  Lherie ;  Toreador,  Jacques  Bouhy. 

I  have  forgotten  the  first  name  of  Mile.  Chapuy,  Lherie 
and  also  the  names  of  the  two  sopranos  who  had  the  roles 
of  Frasquita  and  Mercedes,  the  two  gypsies,  but  I  re- 
member the  conductor  of  the  orchestra,  Jules  Danbe,  and 
the  director  of  the  Opera  Comique,  Carvalho.  The  four 
principals  were  as  good  as  actors  as  they  were  singers, 
and  could  have  made  a  career  as  actors  or  actresses  alone. 

The  orchestra  was  perfect,  the  chorus  well  trained, 
and  nothing  had  been  neglected  to  make  that  opera  one 
of  the  greatest  successes  of  the  Opera  Comique,  with  the 

71 


^2  MY  MEMORIES 

probability  of  at  least  one  hundred  performances,  and  yet 
with  all  that  the  opera  "  Carmen  "  in  1875  was  a  failure. 
Why?  The  patrons  of  the  Opera  Comique  were  of  the 
bourgeois  class  and  a  certain  portion  of  the  second  act 
did  not  altogether  please  them,  and  it  was  circulated 
about  like  wildfire  that  the  opera  was  indecent,  and  that 
the  second  act  took  place  in  a  disreputable  quarter  of  the 
city.  This  was  enough  to  keep  whole  families  away,  and 
at  the  fifth  performance  the  box  office  receipts  were  so 
poor  and  the  failure  of  his  opera  so  pronounced  that 
Bizet  succumbed  to  the  crushing  disappointment  a  few 
months  later.  The  opera-going  public  of  Paris  was  not 
so  scrupulous  when  they  went  to  hear  Gounod's  Faust, 
and  Nero  by  Rubinstein,  or  Herodiade,  by  Massenet, 
and  many  others. 

Among  the  auditors  of  the  first  production  of  Carmen 
was  Minnie  Hauck,  who  saw  at  once  a  great  role  for 
herself;  and  as  she  was  negotiating  for  a  season's  en- 
gagement in  Brussels  with  Calabresi,  director  of  the 
theatre  La  Monnaie,  she  made  a  condition  that  "  Car- 
men "  be  produced  with  her  as  Carmen.  This  did  not 
please  Calabresi,  as  he  knew  that  the  opera,  although  an 
artistic  success,  was  a  failure  financially;  but  Minnie 
Hauck  insisted  so  that  Calabresi  gave  in.  I  know  this 
inside  news  from  Lapissida,  the  stage  manager  at  the 
opera  at  Brussels,  whom  I  met  in  London  two  years  later 
in  1878,  for  he  had  been  engaged  by  Mapleson  to  pro- 
duce "  Carmen "  for  Minnie  Hauck  at  Her  Majesty's 
Opera. 

The  opera  "  Carmen  "  which  was  considered  a  failure  in 
Paris  was  a  tremendous  success  in  Brussels.     All  Bel- 


"  CARMEN  "  73 

gium  saw  it,  even  special  trains  were  run  to  bring  people 
in  from  around  Brussels.  It  was  from  that  success  in 
Brussels  that  the  opera  was  translated  at  once  in  Italian 
and  sung  in  Italian  at  Her  Majesty's  Opera,  in  1878 
and  where  Minnie  Hauck  also  made  her  mark  in  the  role 
of  Carmen  in  Italian.  I  think  that  the  great  popularity 
of  that  opera  was  due,  very  largely,  to  Minnie  Hauck, 
and  it  is  a  pity  that  Bizet  did  not  live  long  enough  to 
witness  the  triumph  of  his  work. 

Galli-Marie  after  so  many  triumphs  as  Mignon  and 
other  characters  retired  from  the  stage.  Mile.  Chapuy 
came  to  London  and  created  such  a  furore  at  Her  Maj- 
esty's Opera  that  she  was  compared  to  Adelina  Patti, 
who  was  singing  at  that  time  at  Covent  Garden  in 
London.  A  second  cousin  of  Mile.  Chapuy,  an  officer 
of  the  French  army,  married  her  and  she  retired  from 
the  stage.  I  met  them  in  Angouleme,  where  she  sang 
only  for  charity;  but  her  singing  in  Paris  and  London 
is  not  forgotten  by  those  who  heard  her;  this  was  in 

1877- 

Lherie,  after  leaving  the  Opera  Comique,  became  a 
professor  of  singing  at  the  National  Conservatoire  in 
Paris. 

Jacques  Bouhy,  a  compatriot  of  mine  from  Verviers 
(half  an  hour  from  Liege),  who  created  the  role  of  the 
Toreador,  has  since  been  director  of  a  conservatory  in 
New  York,  and  is  now  one  of  the  best  singing  teachers 
in  Paris. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  the  popular  Habanera 
in  the  opera  of  "  Carmen  "  was  by  Yradier,  a  Spanish 
composer  who  dedicated  it  to  Zelia  Trebelli.     Bizet  said 


74  MY  MEMORIES 

that  he  could  not  find  a  song  so  well  adapted  as  that,  for 
his  opera. 

Ambroise  Thomas  also  took  a  well-known  Swedish 
folk  song  for  the  Aria  Mad  Scene  of  Ophelia  in  his  opera 
"Hamlet,"  called  "On  a  Crystal  Throne."  (Necken's 
Polska). 

France,  1878 

We  say  in  France :  "  Un  bien  fait  n'est  jamais  perdu  " 
—  a  good  deed  is  never  lost  (wasted).  This  reminds 
me  of  an  incident  which  occurred  on  a  tour  of  the  French 
provinces,  Normandy  and  Brittany,  in  the  spring  of  1878, 
which  was  organized  by  some  artists  of  the  Paris  Grand 
Opera  and  the  Opera  Comique  and  myself.  We  intended 
to  spend  six  weeks  on  the  tour,  but  it  was  cut  short  two 
weeks  by  the  following  incident. 

Our  undertaking  was  advertised  as  the  Operatic  Con- 
cert Company,  which  consisted  of :  Miss  Lavielle  of  the 
Opera  Comique ;  Miss  Sablayroles,  soprano ;  Miss  Huet, 
mezzo  soprano,  first  prize  of  the  Conservatoire;  Stephane, 
tenor  of  the  Opera  Comique;  Brandon,  baritone;  Gresse, 
basso  of  the  Grand  Opera ;  Caisso,  of  the  Opera  Comique ; 
Carre,  accompanist  of  the  Opera  Comique;  Ovide  Musin, 
violinist. 

We  had  booked  all  the  most  interesting  cities  such  as 
Rouen,  Havre,  Cherbourg,  Rennes,  St.  Brieux,  L'Orient, 
Brest  and  so  on.  Our  program  consisted  of  three  parts, 
the  first  being  one  act  from  "  Le  Maitre  de  Chapelle," 
by  Paer,  the  second,  miscellaneous  numbers  by  the  differ- 
ent soloists  and  the  third,  one  act  from  "  Paul  and  Vir- 
ginie,"  by  Masse. 


"  CARMEN  "  75 

Caisso  and  I  acted  as  secretaries  and  attended  to  the 
business,  and  a  part  of  the  time  I  had  three  roles  to  fill: 
First,  at  the  box  office,  then  as  soloist,  and  finally  as 
prompter  in  the  act  from  "  Paul  and  Virginie  "  at  the 
end  of  the  program.  After  the  first  number,  Caisso  took 
my  place  in  the  box  office.  This  was  rather  hard  work, 
but  we  enjoyed  it  all  very  much. 

We  left  St.  Brieux  to  go  to  Rennes  by  a  roundabout 
way,  in  order  to  see  the  magnificent  scenery  on  the  River 
La  Ranee,  which  is  justly  celebrated;  and  we  reached 
St.  Malo,  where  the  river  empties  into  the  sea,  at  about 
noon.  Without  waiting  to  have  luncheon,  we  went  to 
the  rock  where  Chateaubriand  is  buried.  We  had  dinner 
afterwards  and  although  we  had  to  catch  the  3  p.  m. 
train  for  Rennes,  where  we  were  to  appear  that  same 
evening,  the  time  slipped  by  and  when  we  got  to  the  sta- 
tion our  train  was  moving  out  and  had  gone  some  dis- 
tance when  Stephane  rushed  up  to  the  station  master  and 
said: 

"  I  beg  of  you  to  stop  that  train.  We  are  to  appear 
in  Rennes  this  evening  and  no  other  train  will  get  us 
there  in  time." 

The  station  master  raised  his  flag  and  very  luckily  the 
engineer  happened  to  turn  his  head  and  saw  the  signal. 
He  stopped  the  train  and  came  back  so  that  we  could 
board  it.  Before  doing  so,  Stephane  took  out  his  card 
and  handed  it  to  the  station  master,  saying: 

"  We  are  infinitely  obliged  to  you,  and  here  is  my  card. 
I  am  Stephane  of  the  Opera  Comique  in  Paris,  and  any 
time  you  are  in  the  city  I  hope  you  will  give  me  an  op- 
portunity to  return  the  service  you  have  done  us." 


76  MY  MEMORIES 

That  same  year  the  big  Exposition  was  to  take  place 
in  Paris,  and  for  the  season  of  opera,  Carvalho,  the  di- 
rector had  chosen  "  L'Eclair "  by  Halevy.  He  tele- 
graphed Stephane  that  he  had  been  chosen  for  the  tenor 
role,  and  this  cut  our  tour  short  two  weeks.  This  opera 
was  the  principal  work  given  and  all  during  the  Exposi- 
tion they  played  to  packed  houses,  every  seat  and  box  be- 
ing engaged  weeks  beforehand.  So  when  one  day  Ste- 
phane received  a  note  from  the  station  master  of  St.  Malo, 
saying  that  he  had  come  to  Paris  with  his  family  and 
would  like  to  hear  him  but  that  he  had  tried  to  buy  tickets 
and  not  one  was  to  be  had,  Stephane,  a  big-hearted  fellow, 
hurried  to  Carvalho  and  urgently  asked  for  a  box.  But 
no  box  or  seats  were  to  be  had.  After  thinking  an  in- 
stant, Carvalho  said : 

"  I  shall  not  use  my  own  box  to-morrow  night  and 
you  may  have  that." 

Stephane  sent  the  tickets  to  the  station  master  with  his 
compliments  and  the  next  night  he  and  his  family  heard 
"  L'Eclair  "  from  the  private  box  of  the  director  of  the 
Opera  Comique,  free  of  cost,  and  his  kind  action  in  stop- 
ping the  train  found  its  reward.  On  the  other  hand, 
however,  it  is  certain  that  artists  receive  more  considera- 
tion in  France  and  Belgium  than  in  any  other  country, 
due,  no  doubt,  to  the  protection  accorded  them  by  the 
Government,  which  entitles  them  to  respect  in  more  ways 
than  one. 

Recalling  this  incident  in  connection  with  the  opera 
"  L'Eclair,"  reminds  me  of  the  circumstances  which 
prompted  Halevy  to  write  it.  His  opera  "  La  Juive  "  in 
five  acts  had  been  presented  at  the  Grand  Opera  in  Paris 


*'  CARMEN ''  77 

in  1835  In  February,  with  immense  success,  but  the  critics 
attributed  this  to  the  magnificence  of  the  "  mise  en 
scene,"  gorgeous  procession,  etc.,  rather  than  to  the 
music.  Halevy  felt  this  very  keenly  and  to  show  that 
they  were  in  the  wrong,  he  wrote  "  L'Eclair,"  which  had 
no  chorus  whatever,  and  calls  for  but  four  artists, 
soprano,  mezzo  soprano,  tenor  and  baritone,  and  the  or- 
chestra. This  new  sort  of  opera  also  created  a  great 
sensation  when  it  was  produced,  in  1835,  in  November; 
and  at  the  Exposition  of  1878  the  public  never  tired  of 
hearing  it  although  it  was  given  all  during  the  Exposi- 
tion. It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  the  difference  be- 
tween opera  comique  and  comic  opera  in  the  United 
States.  Comic  opera  here  is  more  like  opera  bouffe. 
In  Paris,  at  the  Opera  Comique,  only  high-class  works 
are  produced,  such  as  "  Carmen,"  "  Louise,"  etc.,  and  the 
only  difference  between  the  grand  opera  and  the  opera 
comique,  from  the  artistic  point  of  view,  is  that  at  the 
latter  dialogue  is  permitted,  while  at  the  Grand  Opera 
everything  is  sung  and  no  dialogue  is  permitted. 

French  Authors 
The  Club  of  the  "  Pas  Lu  "  (Unread) 

Just  after  the  war  of  1870,  the  locale  of  this  club  of 
authors,  who  styled  themselves  the  "  Club  of  the  Unread," 
was  in  the  Rue  de  Bac  near  the  Pont  de  Saint  Peres 
(Bridge  of  Sainted  Fathers). 

Although  these  writers  were  pleased  to  consider  them- 
selves as  obscure,  there  were  among  them  men  of  im- 
mense talent  who  set  the  world  agog  in  a  rush  to  read 
them.     The   first   great   author-member   to   appear   was 


78  MY  MEMORIES 

Emile  Zola  and  then  de  Maupassant,  with  his  short  stories, 
and  so  on. 

Tourgenieff,  the  Russian,  spoke  French  perfectly  and 
one  evening,  at  Madame  Viardot-Garcia's  house,  I  heard 
him  tell  the  following  story:  One  evening  in  Heaven, 
God  gave  a  party  to  which  he  invited  all  the  Virtues. 
During  the  evening,  all  the  greater  Virtues  were  much 
more  amicable  and  friendly  one  with  the  other  than  were 
some  of  the  lesser  Virtues.  When  midnight  came  and 
the  guests  were  taking  their  departure,  God  observed 
one  of  the  Virtues  meet  and  pass  by  another  without 
salutation, 

"  This  is  strange,"  said  God,  and  calling  the  two  before 
him,  he  asked  one  of  them:  "  Who  are  you?  "  He  re- 
plied, "  I  am  Benevolence." 

"  And  who  are  you?  "  asked  God  of  the  other  Virtue. 
"  I  am  Gratitude,"  was  the  reply.  And  the  extraor- 
dinary thing  was  that  they  had  never  met  before ! 

A  Near  Fiance 

An  incident  of  my  youth  comes  back  to  me  which  might 
have  changed  my  whole  life  and  career. 

When  I  was  eighteen  years  old,  I  went  to  Nandrin,  my 
birthplace,  to  visit  my  parents;  and  at  an  evening  party 
I  met  a  charming  young  lady  of  seventeen,  whose  father 
owned  a  brick  factory  about  two  miles  from  Nandrin; 
and  we  became  very  fond  of  each  other.  But  when  the 
subject  of  marriage  was  broached,  the  important  factor 
of  the  conscription  for  military  service  had  to  be  taken 
into  account. 

This  was  decided  one  way  or  another  by  drawing  lots. 


"  CARMEN  "  79 

In  our  village,  the  young  fellows  who  were  lucky  enough 
to  draw  a  number  above  i8  would  not  have  to  serve; 
those  drawing  numbers  below  i8  would  have  to  enter  the 
military  service.  Unfortunately,  I  drew  No.  5,  which 
put  an  engagement  of  marriage  out  of  the  question. 
But  I  have  often  thought  that  had  my  luck  been  different, 
I  might  have  become  vice-president  of  a  brick  yard  com- 
pany, and  instead  of  experiencing  the  compliment  to  an 
artist  of  having  bouquets  thrown  to  me,  I  might  have 
reversed  the  procedure  and  thrown  bricks — at  the  heads 
of  the  tax  commissioners,  for  instance! 

The  young  lady  was  not  inconsolable,  however,  and 
two  years  later  married  very  happily,  and  became  in  time 
the  mother  of  a  large  family. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ENGLAND 

My  contract  with  Col.  Mapleson  was  for  five  years,  for 
ten  weeks  each  year  at  the  beginning  of  the  season.  The 
first  concert  was  to  take  place  in  Dublin,  Ireland. 

I  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English,  and  I  had  to  go 
alone  from  Paris  to  Dublin  and  find  my  way  as  best  I 
might.  I  had  my  fiddle  box,  my  bag,  and  my  trunk  and 
all  necessary  information  as  follows,  but  would  I  ever  get 
there  alive  ?  Here  are  the  directions.  "  You  go  from 
Paris  to  Calais,  where  you  take  the  boat  to  Dover,  There 
you  take  the  train  to  London,  the  one  either  to  Charing 
Cross  station  or  to  Victoria,  whichever  you  please ; 
but  that  to  Charing  Cross  is  the  best  and  the  shortest. 
Then  you  cross  London  in  a  *  four-wheeler,'  as  you 
have  a  trunk,  and  go  to  the  Midland  Station,  where  you 
take  a  train  for  Holyhead.  At  Holyhead  you  take  a 
boat  to  Kingston,  and  from  there  you  take  a  train  to 
Dublin."  Goodness !  —  This  was  enough  to  make  me  fill 
my  pockets  with  money  so  as  to  be  sure  to  get  home 
again,  in  case  I  should  get  lost  somewhere. 

On  the  boat,  in  crossing  from  Calais  to  Dover,  I  for- 
tunately met  people  who  could  speak  French,  and  one  of 
them  helped  me  by  giving  instructions  to  the  driver  of 
the  four-wheeler  in  London,  and  when  I  boarded  the 
boat  at  Holyhead,  I  asked  a  gentleman  who  did  not  look 
like  an  Englishman  "  Parlez  vous  Francais?"  and  when 

80 


ENGLAND  8i 

he  replied  "  Oui,"  I  felt  that  my  life  was  saved.  This 
gentleman  was  Del  Puente,  the  baritone  of  the  company, 
and  he  knew  how  to  reach  Dublin.  We  became  very 
good  friends  later  on. 

My  first  appearance  in  Dublin  will  never  be  forgotten 
if  I  were  to  live  a  thousand  years.  For-my  first  number 
I  played  the  "  Souvenir  de  Haydn  " —  Leonard,  (my  ver- 
sion of  it,  approved  by  Leonard).  The  whistling,  with 
the  applause  which  followed  the  piece  was  simply  terrific, 
deafening!  That  whistling  which  fairly  broke  my  heart, 
and  made  me  weep,  decided  me  to  quit  the  company  the 
next  day;  but  Mapleson  came  and  asked  me  to  go  out 
quick  and  bow  to  the  audience.  "  They  want  you 
again,"  he  said. 

I  obeyed  orders  but  felt  very  shy,  and  I  played  an  en- 
core, but  as  they  whistled  again  I  was  absolutely  con- 
vinced that  I  was  a  failure.  It  was  only  when  Fred  H. 
Cowen,  the  accompanist,  told  me  that  whistling  in  Ireland 
was  a  sign  of  great  success  that  I  felt  comforted  to  a  cer- 
tain extent. 

After  several  concerts  in  Ireland  I  began  to  realize 
that  it  was  a  mark  of  appreciation,  and  even  in  England, 
in  Leeds,  Bristol  and  other  provincial  towns  where  there 
are  many  Irish,  the  whistling  in  the  galleries  is  indicative 
of  the  warmest  appreciation.  We  played  all  the  big 
cities  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and  gave  sixty 
concerts  in  ten  weeks,  every  day  except  Sunday. 

Our  company  was  composed  of  the  leading  singers  of 
Her  Majesty's  Opera,  the  pianist  accompanist  and  myself 
as  violinist;  ten  in  all,  a  quartette  of  prima  donnas,  and 
a  quartette  of  operatic  singers.     After  the  concert  tour 


82  MY  MEMORIES 

Mapleson  would  give  performances  of  opera  all  over 
Great  Britain.  This  was  the  first  tour  of  Therese  Ti- 
tians  after  her  season  in  America ;  and  as  she  was  in  my 
opinion  the  most  celebrated  singer  in  England,  we  played 
to  standing  room  only,  every  night. 

The  last  concert  of  the  tour  took  place  in  Edinburgh, 
and  all  the  operatic  singers  remained  for  the  Opera;  but 
I  made  the  journey  from  Edinburgh  to  Paris  all  alone. 
It  seemed  rather  like  an  Irish  bull  to  find  that  my  con- 
tract made  in  English,  with  an  Englishman,  should  be- 
gin in  Dublin  and  end  in  Edinburgh  (called  the  modern 
Athens).  How  glad  I  was  to  see  Paris  again,  my  little 
apartment  and  my  friends,  and  to  be  able  to  speak  my 
mother  tongue  once  more ! 

As  already  stated,  my  five  years'  contract  called  for  ten 
weeks  at  the  beginning  of  the  winter  season;  and  when 
this  was  completed  I  would  return  to  fill  my  concert  en- 
gagements in  Paris  and  on  the  Continent,  and  give  my 
series  of  Chamber  Concerts  with  my  Quartette  until  the 
month  of  May.  I  would  then  return  to  London  for  the 
season,  which  began  in  April  and  lasted  until  July. 

Many  concerts  were  given  by  the  Orchestral  Societies, 
—  the  Old  Philharmonic  —  Cusins,  conductor,  and  the 
New  Philharmonic,  with  Dr.  White  and  W.  Ganz,  con- 
ductors; and  there  were  also  many  recitals  by  distin- 
guished artists. 

The  leading  halls  at  that  time  were  St.  James'  Hall, 
which  seated  2CX)0  people,  and  the  Royal  Albert  Hall, 
which  I  believe  is  the  largest  concert  hall  in  the  world, 
the  gallery  alone  seating  about  five  thousand  people. 
The  acoustics  of  this  hall  are  marvelous.     I  used  to  play 


ENGLAND  83 

several  pieces  which  require  the  mute,  and  one  could  dis- 
tinctly hear  the  softest  notes  in  every  part  of  the  hall. 
Queens  Hall  is  the  leading  hall  to-day;  but  in  my  time 
all  the  orchestral  concerts  were  given  in  St.  James's, 
where  I  played  many  times  with  both  the  old  and  the  new 
Philharmonic  societies. 

At  one  of  those  given  by  the  New  Philharmonic,  I  was 
engaged  to  play  the  solo  in  the  "  Deluge  "  by  Saint- 
Saens,  the  composer  conducting.  At  the  rehearsal  in 
the  morning  Saint-Saens  conducted;  but  at  the  concert 
he  failed  to  appear,  and  Ganz  took  the  baton.  As  soon 
as  I  could  get  away  after  the  matinee,  I  hurried  over  to 
Saint-Saens's  hotel  to  see  what  had  happened.  I  found 
him  in  bed.  He  had  fallen  and  hurt  his  leg  so  badly  that 
he  could  not  walk.  He  was  confined  to  his  apartment 
for  a  week,  and  during  that  time  something  occurred 
which  I  imagine  is  quite  in  the  life  of  a  composer. 

One  day  as  Saint-Saens's  Paris  publisher  —  Durand 
—  and  I  were  sitting  beside  him,  Durand  said,  "  My 
dear  Saint-Saens,  you  ought  to  write  a  concerto  for 
Musin."  Saint-Saens  seemed  taken  with  the  idea,  and 
sending  for  materials  he  set  to  work  at  once,  his  injured 
leg  propped  up  in  a  chair.  Under  these  trying  conditions 
Saint-Saens  composed  and  scored  his  "  Concertstiick," 
in  less  than  a  week. 

The  work  is  noble  and  full  of  inspiration,  and  very  bril- 
liant. Durand  published  it  and  Saint-Saens  dedicated 
it  to  me.  I  have  never  heard  it  played  by  another  vio- 
linist, but  it  should  be  in  the  concert  repertory  of  every 
violinist. 

In    1878   I   organized   five   Saint-Saens   Concerts   at 


84  MY  MEMORIES 

Steinway  Hall,  London, —  Lower  Seymour  St. —  where 
beside  the  great  piano  virtuoso  himself,  appeared  An- 
nette Essipoff,  Montigny  Remaury,  Sarasate,  Stene- 
bruggen  (the  great  horn  soloist  of  the  opera  at  Covent 
Garden)  and  a  quartette  which  I  had  organized  in  London 
with  leading  musicians. 

My  Quartette  appeared  at  each  concert,  and  as  may 
be  imagined  these  concerts  were  very  attractive  and  we 
had  a  large  attendance.  Pablo  de  Sarasate,  a  good  friend 
of  mine,  played  the  Kreutzer  Sonata  with  Mme.  Essipoff, 
and  my  quartette  played  with  Saint-Saens  his  Quintette 
for  Piano  and  stringed  instruments.  At  that  seance  we 
had  to  turn  people  away.  At  another  of  these  concerts 
Saint-Saens  played  with  Mme.  Montigny  Remaury,  his 
celebrated  Variations  on  a  theme  of  Beethoven  arranged 
for  two  pianos,  and  also  his  quartette  with  piano. 

During  a  London  Season  there  are  also  a  great  many 
private  concerts  and  garden  parties,  given  by  the  aristoc- 
racy, which  are  a  great  resource  for  a  popular  artist. 
Sir  Julius  Benedict,  who  had  the  management  of  many 
of  these  garden  parties,  took  me  into  his  affection  and 
through  him  I  had  a  lot  of  such  engagements. 

Sir  Julius  Benedict  had  a  wonderful  career  in  Vienna, 
Paris,  Naples,  and  London,  where  he  was  knighted  by 
Queen  Victoria  in  1871.  He  was  the  pianist  with  Jenny 
Lind  when  she  toured  in  America  in  1850,  under  the 
management  of  P.  T.  Barnum, 

I  played  several  times  at  his  house,  where  all  the  Lon- 
don artists  would  meet  and  be  proud  to  sing  or  play  for 
him.     When  I  first  met  Sir  Julius  Benedict  in  London  in 


ENGLAND  85 

1878,  he  was  over  70  years  old,  and  he  had  just  married 
a  young  lady  pupil  of  his  who  was  only  twenty.  As  I 
was  very  frequently  at  his  house  I  could  see  what  ven- 
eration and  admiration  Lady  Benedict  had  for  her  dis- 
tinguished husband. 

Lady  Londesborough  of  Berkeley  Square  asked  me  to 
give  a  matinee  at  her  private  mansion,  the  salons  of  which 
she  filled  with  her  friends  of  the  aristocracy.  After  the 
music,  and  when  we  had  all  been  served  with  tea  and 
cakes,  she  sent  me  by  her  groom  with  powdered  hair  a 
check  for  fifty  guineas.  This  was  not  a  large  sum  as 
things  are  done  to-day;  but  at  that  time  fifty  guineas  was 
considered  a  nice  little  purse. 

I  remember  we  had  the  same  agreeable  experience  at 
Sir  Ruben  Sassoon's  (one  of  the  richest  men  in  London), 
when  Saint-Saens,  Libotton  —  Belgian  'cellist  —  and  I 
played  at  his  mansion  in  Grosvenor  Square.  I  met  Sir 
Ruben  Sassoon  not  only  in  London,  but  also  in  Brighton 
where  he  had  a  magnificent  marine  villa.  He  invited  me 
to  dinner,  and  there  I  met  Mrs.  Lily  Langtry.  He  told 
me  that  she  was  considered  the  prettiest  woman  in  Eng- 
land, and  that  she  was  a  great  friend  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  afterwards  King  Edward  VH.  In  London  Sir 
Ruben  Sassoon  showed  me  his  stables.  His  beautiful 
horses  did  not  live  on  the  ground  floor,  if  you  please, 
but  on  the  first  floor,  and  I  saw  eleven  of  them  go  up  by 
elevator  to  their  stalls.     This  was  quite  new  to  me. 

In  1882,  the  Mannerchor  of  Cologne,  Germany,  com- 
posed of  about  eighty  members,  came  to  London  and 
gave  four  concerts  in  St.  James's  Hall.     I  was  the  only 


86  MY  MEMORIES 

soloist  outside  of  the  chorus.  The  hall  was  crowded  at 
every  concert  with  German  people  who  could  understand 
every  word  that  was  sung. 

This  male  chorus,  which  sings  a  capella,  is  considered 
one  of  the  best  in  Germany.  Although  there  are  no 
professional  singers  among  them,  all  being  amateurs  and 
members  of  every  profession,  lawyers,  physicians,  mer- 
chants, they  all  have  good  voices  and  gave  great  satisfac- 
tion to  the  big  audiences. 

Samuel  de  Lange,  a  Dutch  pianist  and  composer,  whom 
I  knew  in  Paris  before  he  settled  in  Cologne,  was  the 
conductor;  and  the  singing  of  the  chorus  as  set  on  the 
program,  showed  artistic  feeling  and  great  power. 

In  Europe  there  are  often  international  contests  be- 
tween these  choruses,  between  Belgium,  Holland  and 
Germany,  and  the  interest  taken  by  the  different  societies 
in  the  various  countries  is  very  great  and  these  concerts 
are  most  interesting.  The  jury  is  composed  of  at  least 
twelve  persons,  all  celebrated  artists,  and  the  president; 
the  latter  being  the  best  musician  in  the  country  where 
the  contest  takes  place. 

Arrigo  Boito 

"  Mefistofele,"  grand  opera  by  Arrigo  Boito,  was  given 
in  London  for  the  first  time  at  Her  Majesty's  Opera  in 
1880.  Col.  Mapleson  was  the  director  of  the  opera, 
and  he  had  Arrigo  Boito  come  from  Italy  to  supervise  the 
rehearsals.  Christine  Nilsson  was  the  Marguerite  and 
the  role  of  Mephistopheles  was  played  by  the  basso  who 
created  the  role  in  1868,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten; 
but  he  was  not  only  a  good  singer  but  also  a  good  actor. 


ENGLAND  87 

Mme.  Zelia  Trebelli,  the  celebrated  contralto,  gave  a 
dinner  to  Boito,  to  which  I  was  invited,  and  among  the 
guests  were  Joseph  Barnby,  composer-organist,  con- 
ductor of  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  Choral  Society, —  H. 
Leslie,  also  a  celebrated  composer  and  conductor  of 
Choral  Societies  in  England,  F.  H.  Cowen  (now  Sir) 
and  other  ladies  and  gentlemen. 

There  was  quite  a  reception  given  to  the  Italian  Wag- 
ner as  he  was  called ;  because  like  Wagner,  Boito  wrote 
not  only  the  music  but  the  text  to  his  work.  This  dinner 
took  place  just  the  day  of  the  first  performance  of  "  Me- 
fistofele  "  in  London. 

Everybody  was  seated  at  six  o'clock.  Arrigo  Boito 
was  charming  and  handsome  as  an  Adonis.  Mme.  Tre- 
belli took  Boito  and  a  couple  of  her  friends  in  her  car- 
riage, and  the  rest  of  us  followed  in  cabs.  I  had  the 
honor  of  being  in  the  same  box  with  the  celebrated  com- 
poser, and  I  enjoyed  the  performance  immensely,  al- 
though it  lasted  until  after  one  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
Many  people  left  before  the  Epilogue.  Good  people 
wanted  to  be  home  earlier.  The  opera  is  composed  of 
a  Prologue,  four  acts,  and  the  Epilogue,  and  is  too  long 
for  the  British  and  American  public.  It  was  an  immense 
success  though,  and  Boito,  who  had  received  an  ovation 
from  the  public,  was  obliged  to  bow  from  the  box  many 
times. 

I  found  Christine  Nilsson  better  in  that  opera  as  Mar- 
guerite, than  in  that  of  Gounod's  "  Faust  " ;  the  latter,  by 
the  way,  being  her  first  role  here  in  the  Metropolitan 
Opera  House  in  the  season  of  1884.  At  the  time  of  his 
triumph  in  London,  Boito  was  quite  a  young  man,  scarcely 


88  MY  MEMORIES 

forty;  "  Mefistofele  "  having  been  given  in  Italy  when  he 
was  only  twenty-six  years  old. 

Boito  was  as  much  a  poet  as  a  musician  and  his  work  in 
both  lines  has  been  admired  by  the  whole  world.  The 
only  drawback  to  the  success  of  his  work  is  that  it  is  too 
long. 

This  opera  of  Boito's  should  have  commenced  at  5  :30 
p.  M.,  as  we  do  the  thing  in  Belgium.  There  we  generally 
give  two  operas  in  one  evening;  for  the  people  want  their 
money's  worth;  but  by  beginning  at  an  early  hour  they 
would  still  be  at  home  at  a  seasonable  hour  although  two 
operas  might  be  given. 

I  remember  at  Verviers  on  a  Sunday  there  would  be 
given  the  "  Trovatore  "  of  Verdi,  and  the  "  Huguenots  " 
of  Meyerbeer,  nine  acts.  At  Liege,  I  recall  having  heard 
"  Mignon,"  of  Ambroise  Thomas,  and  a  Drama  in  four 
acts,  all  the  same  evening.  I  recall  that  at  Liege  (when  I 
was  a  little  boy  playing  second  violin  in  the  orchestra), 
the  program  was  "  William  Tell,"  Rossini,  and  "  La  Fa- 
vorita,"  by  Donizetti.  The  spectacle  lasted  from  5  :30 
p.  M.  until  one  the  next  morning.  In  provincial  cities  and 
towns  of  Belgium,  if  the  Director  of  the  Opera  does  not 
give  a  long  program,  the  public  will  not  turn  out  at  all. 

One  of  the  greatest  sights  which  I  saw  in  London  was 
at  a  concert  at  the  Albert  Hall,  organized  by  W.  Kuhe 
of  Brighton.  Kuhe  was  a  manager  who  did  things  on  a 
big  scale.  For  this  concert  he  had  engaged  Adelina 
Patti,  Lasalle,  Mierzinsky,  Saint-Saens  as  organist,  the 
whole  orchestra  of  Covent  Garden,  and  myself.  I  re- 
member that  I  played  the  Rondo  Capriccioso,  with  Saint- 


ENGLAND  89 

Saens  conducting  the  orchestra.  When  you  recall  that 
the  gallery  alone  seated  five  thousand  people,  and  that 
this  immense  Royal  Albert  Hall  was  packed  from  pit  to 
dome,  thousands  being  turned  away, —  you  can  imagine 
the  sight,  and  how  electrifying  the  applause  of  such  an 
audience  would  be  to  the  artists.  One  number,  the  Ave 
Maria  of  Gounod,  was  sung  by  Mme.  Patti ;  Gounod  at 
the  piano,  Saint-Saens  at  the  organ  and  the  violin 
obligato  played  by  myself. 

There  is  one  characteristic  of  the  British  people  in  par- 
ticular which  has  always  excited  my  admiration.  They 
not  only  understand  and  appreciate  the  best  music  (the 
classical  concerts  always  drawing  crowds  who  stand  some- 
times for  hours  before  the  doors  of  the  hall  in  order  to 
get  seats),  but  they  never  forget  the  old  artists.  An 
artist  once  established  as  a  favorite,  he  or  she  will  re- 
main a  drawing  card  as  long  as  they  are  able  to  hobble 
or  wabble  onto  the  stage.  Although  their  hair  may  be 
silvered  by  time ;  their  joints  stiffened  by  age  and  cracked 
be  the  bell  of  a  once  glorious  voice,  the  British  public  is 
faithful  to  the  ideal  once  formed  in  its  mind  by  the  artist. 
To  illustrate  —  A  lady  on  listening  to  Mme.  Grisi,  then 
passee,  exclaimed,  ''  Poor  Grisi!  she  can't  sing  any  more! 
Bravo!  Bravo!  encore!  encore!" — applauding  vocifer- 
ously. It  will  be  easily  understood  from  this  that  the 
annual  benefit  concert  given  for  the  support  of  the  Home 
for  Old  Artists  is  always  a  great  success.  The  affair 
starts  off  at  two  in  the  afternoon  and  goes  on  until  six 
like  a  continuous  performance,  although  no  artist  ap- 
pears more  than  once.  The  services  of  the  great  artists 
■^ho  happen  to  be  in  London  are  given  gratuitously,  of 


90  MY  MEMORIES 

course,  and  during  the  afternoon  many  celebrities  may  be 
heard;  and  it  also  provides  an  opportunity  for  others 
desirous  of  making  a  reputation  to  obtain  a  hearing. 
The  program  although  immensely  long  was  worked 
out  with  the  precision  of  a  clock,  each  artist  appearing 
and  disappearing  with  promptness  and  despatch. 

Every  seat,  no  matter  where  located,  was  the  one  price 
of  a  guinea  each,  and  big  returns  were  realized  for  the 
aged  artists.  Three  violinists  appeared  at  one  of  these 
concerts,  I  remember,  and  three  pianists.  Then  there 
were  Santley,  Lloyd,  Foli,  Sarah  Bernhardt,  Ellen  Terry, 
Henry  Irving,  Coquelin  the  elder,  and  many  others  whose 
names  I  do  not  recall. 

In  Ryder  Street,  Pall  Mall,  there  was  a  small  hotel 
kept  by  a  Frenchman,  Mr.  Dieudonne.  Here  many  of 
the  Covent  Garden  artists,  Anton  Rubinstein,  Sarasate 
and  I  used  to  put  up  when  in  London,  and  I  assure  you 
there  was  some  noises  during  dinner  with  every  one 
talking  at  once  and  from  table  to  table.  The  cuisine 
was  excellent  excepting  for  the  coffee,  and  I  happened 
to  remark  that  the  tea  in  England  was  good  but  not  the 
coffee;  and  Dieudonne  never  lost  an  occasion  after  that 
to  assert  that  his  coffee  was  better  than  in  Paris. 

There  are  four  things  which  I  have  found  better  in 
England  than  anywhere  else,  i.  e.,  fried  sole,  mutton 
chops,  eggs  and  bacon,  and  brandy-and-soda.  Even  the 
short  distance  across  the  Channel  seems  to  change  the 
taste,  and  many  travelers  agree  with  me. 

During  the  season  in  London,  as  one  of  Mapleson's 
artists  I  could  go  to  every  performance  at  Her  Majesty's 


ENGLAND  91 

Opera  in  Haymarket;  not  only  in  the  theater  but  on  the 
stage,  where  I  could  meet  all  the  singers  and  listen  to  the 
opera  from  behind  the  scenes. 

At  that  time  Michael  Costa  and  Licalsi  were  the  con- 
ductors, and  Costa  was  also  the  conductor  of  the  Handel 
Festival,  which  took  place  every  four  years  with  four 
thousand  performers,  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  out  at  Syden- 
ham. 

Harrison  &  Harrison  Concerts.     Patti  Incident 

In  1881  I  was  engaged  by  Harrison  &  Harrison  of 
Birmingham,  England,  for  one  of  their  winter  concerts. 
Henry  Ketten  the  pianist  was  also  engaged  and  we  made 
the  trip  from  Paris  together. 

But  the  great  star  of  that  concert  was  Adelina  Patti. 
Other  singers  were  Antoinette  Sterling,  contralto; 
Charles  Santley,  baritone;  Edward  Lloyd,  tenor,  and 
Jack  Foli,  the  basso,  all  of  whom  were  great  favorites  in 
England. 

In  the  second  part  of  the  program  I  played  the  Air 
and  Variations  from  "  Moses  in  Egypt,"  arranged  by 
Paganini  for  the  G  string  alone.  After  an  encore  I  went 
down  stairs  to  the  artists'  room  where  I  found  Foli,  with 
his  overcoat  on,  who  said,  "  I  am  thirsty.  I  must  have 
a  glass  of  beer  at  once."  I  said,  "  I  am  going  with 
you."  We  went  to  a  place  at  the  corner  and  had  a  glass 
of  stout,  and  when  we  got  back  Harrison  was  in  the 
artists'  room  asking  for  me.  "Where  were  you?"  he 
asked.  "  Mme.  Patti  has  been  obliged  to  wait  a  long 
time  "  (Patti  had  to  appear  in  the  next  number)  "  as  the 
public  wanted  to  hear  you  again  and  kept  applauding; 


92  MY  MEMORIES 

but  you  were  not  to  be  found."  I  told  him  that  after 
my  encore  I  did  not  hear  any  more  applause  and  went  out 
for  a  moment  with  Foli ;  but  it  seemed  that  Mme.  Patti 
was  much  put  out  at  having  to  wait  on  my  account. 
Some  time  afterward  when  Marcus  Meyer,  Patti's  man- 
ager, offered  me  a  contract  for  six  weeks  with  the  Diva, 
for  a  tour  in  England,  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  I  had 
accepted,  I  was  very  much  disappointed  at  receiving  a 
letter  from  him  informing  me  that  the  tour  would  not 
take  place. 

In  1885  I  met  Marcus  Meyer  here  in  New  York,  and  he 
asked  me  what  the  trouble  was  between  Mme.  Patti  and 
myself.  He  said  that  when  he  told  her  that  he  had  en- 
gaged me  for  that  tour  Patti  had  said  she  would  not 
have  me,  and  told  him  to  engage  some  one  else.  I  told 
him  of  the  incident  in  Birmingham  as  the  only  thing  I 
could  think  of,  and  he  said  at  once,  "  That  was  the  rea- 
son." I  had  not  known  until  then  that  the  tour  had  taken 
place. 

London  about  1880 

Among  the  Clubs  in  London  was  one  called  the  Re- 
gency Club.  The  Club  House  was  situated  at  the  corner 
of  Bond  and  Albermarle  Streets.  I  became  a  member 
about  1880  as  I  recall.  Its  members  were  men  dis- 
tinguished in  the  field  of  literature,  music  and  drama. 
Like  the  Lambs  Club  of  New  York,  no  ladies  were  ad- 
mitted. 

The  President  was  Chappell,  the  music  publisher;  and 
Henry  Irving  was  the  Vice  President.  During  the  "  Sea- 
son "  in  May  and  June,  the  Club  gave  social  and  musical 


ENGLAND  93 

evenings.  Maybrick,  who  wrote  the  famous  ballad 
"  Nancy  Lee,"  was  often  the  Master  of  Ceremonies,  and 
a  clever  one  too;  and  many  celebrated  artists  would  be 
heard  in  the  same  evening,  such  as  Lloyd  and  Maas,  the 
great  tenor  singers;  Chas.  Santley  and  Foli,  the  bassos; 
Sir  Henry  Irving,  in  recitations ;  and  many  other  members 
in  special  selections  from  their  repertories.  I  often  had 
the  pleasure  of  contributing  some  selections  for  the  violin. 
Some  one  remarked  on  one  occasion  that  if  every 
artist  taking  part  in  the  entertainment  were  paid  his 
price,  St.  James's  Hall  filled  to  the  top  would  be  too  small 
to  pay  the  expenses ;  but  here  in  this  relatively  small  Club, 
the  atmosphere  was  felt  to  be  the  most  highly  apprecia- 
tive to  be  found  anywhere,  and  every  one  gave  his  serv- 
ices with  the  greatest  pleasure.  Unlike  the  custom  of 
the  Lambs  Club,  which  is  to  have  a  large  number  of  the 
artist  members  appear  together  in  one  or  two  numbers 
of  the  program,  the  Regency's  method  was  to  have  every 
one  appear  alone.  The  Master  of  Ceremonies  arrang- 
ing an  impromptu  program  according  to  whatever  artists 
might  be  present,  and  every  one  following  orders  with 
gusto.  Here  in  New  York  the  Lambs  have  five  or  six 
Gambols  during  each  winter,  and  the  Collie,  who  is  usu- 
ally one  of  the  professional  lights  of  Broadway  with  many 
admirers  and  friends,  arranges  the  Gambols  and  with 
the  play  writers  and  actor  members  prepares  an  attrac- 
tive and  refined  program.  Every  play  must  be  new-given 
for  the  first  time.  Artists  who  are  not  members,  are 
often  invited  to  contribute  specialties  between  the  acts, 
as  guests.  Every  member  of  the  Lambs  has  his  seat  free 
of  cost;  but  any  one  inviting  guests  must  pay  ten  dollars 


94  MY  MEMORIES 

for  each,  which  covers  the  cost  of  the  performance  and 
the  banquet  which  follows. 

England  and  the  English  Language 

It  is  an  undeniable  fact  that  the  success  of  an  artist  in 
London  is  reverberated  to  the  four  corners  of  the  Globe. 
While  every  artist  who  meets  with  approbation  in  Paris 
is  proud  of  it,  still  a  Parisian  success  is  not  noised  abroad 
to  any  such  extent  as  one  obtained  in  the  Capital  of  Eng- 
land. 

This  is  no  doubt  due  to  the  almost  universal  use  of 
the  English  language  and  the  fact  that  the  circulation  of 
the  London  press  extends  even  to  the  countries  in  the 
most  distant  parts  of  the  world.  In  my  two  tours  which 
encircled  the  Globe,  and  other  routes  along  the  other 
points  of  the  compass,  I  found  that  my  name  was  known, 
not  from  my  career  in  France,  but  from  my  appearances 
in  London  and  the  British  provinces.  Out  in  the  Colo- 
nies they  receive  the  programs  of  important  concerts 
in  London ;  and  they  keep  them,  and  when  an  artist  is 
announced  to  arrive  in  their  country,  they  get  out  their 
programs  to  see  if  his  or  her  name  is  on  any  of  them. 
If  you  have  the  cachet  of  London,  your  reception  will 
be  a  cordial  one ;  but  they  know  little  or  nothing  of  what  is 
going  on  in  the  musical  field  in  France,  or  even  in  the 
States ;  but  they  know  the  name  of  every  artist  who  ap- 
pears in  London,  even  the  vaudeville  stars,  actors  and 
actresses. 

I  met  many  people  out  in  Australia,  New  Zealand,  In- 
dia, China  and  Japan  and  other  places,  who  told  me  the 
date  of  such  and  such  concerts  where  I  appeared  in  Lon- 


ENGLAND  95 

don  and  even  what  I  played.  It  is  really  marvelous  to 
find  that  only  one  language,  the  English,  is  spoken,  no 
matter  how  far  afield  one  may  travel.  I  do  not  believe 
that  I  found  more  than  three  occasions  in  two  years, 
where  I  could  speak  French,  and  from  constantly  speak- 
ing and  thinking  in  English  for  so  many  months,  I  actu- 
ally spoke  French  with  hesitation ;  but  the  mother  tongue 
was  quickly  restored.  The  English  language  is  the  one 
to  cultivate  for  your  travels,  or  you  will  be  apt  to  get  veal, 
when  you  order  mutton,  and  so  on. 


CHAPTER  IX 

INCIDENT    IN    COPENHAGEN,    DENMARK 

During  the  summer  of  1879  some  artists  of  Her  Ma- 
jesty's Opera  in  London  were  engaged  for  a  concert  tour 
in  Scandinavia,  I  being  engaged  as  violinist  of  the  com- 
pany. 

The  first  place  visited  was  Copenhagen,  Denmark. 
The  Tivoli  in  Copenhagen  is  unique  as  a  place  of  amuse- 
ment. It  covers  many  acres  of  ground  where  every  kind 
of  amusement  can  be  had.  To  get  into  the  Tivoli  gardens 
cost  ten  ore  (about  thirteen  cents)  and  many  of  the  at- 
tractions inside  were  free;  but  entrance  to  some  others, 
resembling  Coney  Island  in  the  United  States,  cost  some- 
thing extra.  Another  place  where  there  was  an  extra 
charge  was  the  hall  where  were  given  classical  concerts 
by  grand  orchestra,  the  conductor  of  which,  in  my  time, 
was  Baldwin  Dahl.  At  one  time  came  von  Moltke,  the 
great  strategist  of  the  war  of  1870,  and  in  his  honor  Dahl 
had  the  unhappy  idea  of  having  the  orchestra  play  "  Die 
Wacht  am  Rhein." 

The  audience  remained  coldly  silent  during  von 
Moltke's  presence  and  during  the  playing  of  the  German 
national  air,  but  the  moment  he  left  the  hall  (and  he 
left  at  once)  the  people,  remembering  Schleswig-Hol- 
stein,  burst  into  such  a  violent  demonstration  of  hate, 
with  hooting  and  hisses,  that  Dahl  had  to  save  himself. 

96 


INCIDENT  IN  COPENHAGEN,  DENMARK        97 

He  never  conducted  again  and  died  a  few  months  after- 
wards. 

My  second  visit  was  in  the  following  year,  1880,  with 
Zelia  Trebelli,  the  celebrated  contralto;  Conrad  Behrens, 
who  was  later  basso  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  in  New 
York  for  some  years;  and  Bisaccia,  the  pianist. 

A  good  story  about  Behrens,  which  I  heard  in  Stock- 
holm, was  that  at  one  time  he  had  kept  a  shop,  specializing 
in  cheese,  but  he  failed.  In  Court,  when  the  Judge  asked 
him  "  What  became  of  the  cheese?  "  he  replied  with  his 
big  voice:     "The  rats  ate  them!" 

This  caused  a  roar,  but  Behrens  was  already  known 
and  popular  for  his  beautiful  voice  when  singing  "  O 
Vermeland  du  Skona,  du  Herrlige  Land,"  the  most  popu- 
lar air  in  Sweden,  and  everybody  was  glad  when  he 
went  free. 

Another  time  it  was  agreed  with  Behrens,  when  we 
were  in  Hamburg,  that  we  would  go  to  Hammerfest  on 
a  pleasure  trip.  No  sooner  arrived  then  Behrens  backed 
out  and  went  back,  but  I  was  invited  by  Captain  Phillips, 
who  was  there  with  his  yacht,  to  go  to  his  fishing  place 
with  him.  His  fishing  place  was  up  among  the  Lap- 
landers and  was  formerly  the  fishing  place  of  Lord  Dud- 
ley. He  paid  three  hundred  guineas  to  the  Norwegian 
Government  for  the  privilege  of  about  three  miles  of 
fjords  where  salmon  is  plentiful.  He  had  cached  a  lot 
of  provisions  the  year  before. 

The  shore  of  the  fjords  was  very  rocky  and  we  had 
a  hard  time  to  reach  the  place.  Two  of  his  sailors  carried 
what  we  needed  and  I  expected  a  great  time. 

We  caught  plenty  of  salmon  with  the  black-fly  and 


98  MY  MEMORIES 

had  excellent  sport,  but  the  conserves  of  all  kinds  which 
had  been  cached  were  gone  —  stolen  and  eaten  by  the 
Lapps.  So,  after  eating  salmon  in  every  imaginable  way 
for  a  week,  we  gave  it  up  and  went  back  to  Hammerfest. 
Since  then  salmon  is  poison  to  me. 

The  third  trip  in  Scandinavia  was  in  1882.  The  com- 
pany was  composed  of  Zelia  Trebelli,  Wetsberg,  tenor, 
Licalsi  (conductor  of  Her  Majesty's,  London),  pianist 
and  accompanist,  and  myself. 

Miss  Antoinette  Trebelli  accompanied  her  mother,  as 
we  were  going  to  make  a  tour  of  ten  weeks  in  Denmark, 
Sweden  and  Norway  at  the  best  time  of  the  year,  July, 
August  and  September. 

Madame  Trebelli  had  a  great  reputation  in  Scandinavia. 
She  was  a  friend  of  the  King  and  Queen  of  Denmark 
and  also  of  the  King  of  Sweden.  The  tour  began  as 
usual  by  concerts  with  orchestra  at  the  Tivoli  in  Copen- 
hagen. 

The  King  of  Denmark  had  a  castle  at  Clempemborg, 
a  suburb  of  Copenhagen,  and  our  company  was  sum- 
moned to  appear  at  a  state  concert  at  the  castle.  The 
audience  was  composed  of  King  Christian,  the  Queen, 
the  Prince  of  Wales  (afterward  Edward  VII)  and  the 
Princess ;  the  Czarevitch  of  Russia, —  afterwards  the 
Czar, —  and  his  wife;  the  Crown  Prince  of  Denmark 
(George,  who  later  became  the  King  of  Greece  and  was 
killed  after  his  ascension  to  the  throne  of  that  country). 
Princess  Thyra  and  Prince  Waldemar;  also  a  few  high 
officials  of  the  Government  of  Denmark. 

King  Christian  was  called  the  "  father-in-law  "  of  the 
crowned  heads  of  Europe.     His  castle  at  Clempemborg 


1    ..;■, 


Li  eal 8 i , Co nd uc  to  r  o  f 
7^e  t zb  e  rg  ,  Teno  r  .  f^  .1 1 1.  i  r , 


GROUP  OF  FIVE 


INCIDENT  IN  COPENHAGEN,  DENMARK       99 

was  small  and  when  his  sons-in-law  came  for  a  visit  they 
used  to  live  on  their  yachts. 

It  was  reported  that  the  daughters  of  King  Christian 
were  required  to  make  their  own  beds  and  put  their  bed- 
rooms in  order  before  appearing  in  the  morning. 

Prince  Waldemar,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  was  a 
great  lover  of  music  and  at  concerts  in  Copenhagen  I  fre- 
quently met  him  in  conversation  behind  the  scenes. 

Four  of  the  leading  musicians  of  the  world,  all  Scan- 
dinavians, were,  in  my  time,  scattered  throughout  their 
country :  I  met  Niels  Gade  in  Copenhagen,  Denmark ; 
Grieg  in  Bergen,  Norway  (the  home  of  Ole  Bull)  ;  and 
Svendsen  in  Christiania,  Norway.  Norman,  a  great 
Swedish  musician,  who  became  the  husband  of  Neruda, 
the  violinist,  I  met  in  Stockholm. 

Later,  Johann  Svendsen  settled  in  Copenhagen,  where 
at  one  of  the  Tivoli  concerts  I  played  his  Romance  in  G 
with  orchestra,  Svendsen  conducting. 

Touring  in  Russia 

I  went  to  Russia  in  1882,  under  the  management  of 
Max  Kugel  from  Vienna.  As  we  had  finished  a  tour 
of  Sweden,  we  went  to  Abo,  in  Finland,  and  also  gave 
several  concerts  in  Helsingfors.  The  company  was  com- 
posed of  Zelia  Trebelli,  the  great  contralto;  Bisaccia, 
Neapolitan  pianist,  and  myself.  Our  first  concert  was 
to  be  in  Reval,  across  the  gulf  from  Helsingfors.  As 
the  boat  was  to  leave  the  next  morning,  we  went  aboard 
at  night,  and  when  we  awoke  we  thought  we  had  arrived 
at  Reval.  Instead  we  were  surprised  to  find  ourselves 
still  in  the  dock  at  Helsingfors.     The  boat  had  not  been 


loo  MY  MEMORIES 

able  to  leave  on  account  of  a  terrific  storm;  and  we  finally 
had  to  go  by  rail,  first  to  Petersburg  and  then  to  Reval. 
It  was  cold  there,  and  we  were  all  in  furs  from  head  to 
foot.  But  the  Russians  did  not  seem  to  mind  the  cold, 
for  on  the  lower  deck  of  the  boat  we  took  to  get  from 
Reval  to  Dorpat  on  Lake  Pipus  —  on  our  way  to  Riga, 
we  saw  them  with  their  coats  open  and  their  throats  bare. 
They  were  drinking  vodka  —  a  very  strong  Russian 
liquor.  Riga  was  the  biggest  town  of  that  part  of  Ger- 
man Russia.  This  was  about  1881.  It  was  a  town 
about  the  size  of  Milwaukee.  All  the  signs  were  in  Ger- 
man, and  that  language  was  spoken  almost  entirely. 
Two  other  German  towns  in  Russia  were  Mitau  and 
Libau,  which  were  in  our  itinerary.  Another  was  Vilna, 
where  a  boy  who  has  since  made  a  great  name  for  him- 
self in  the  world  was  presented  to  me  by  his  father. 
This  was  Godowski,  the  pianist.  Later  on  he  came  to 
America,  and  the  first  tour  he  made  in  the  United  States 
was  in  my  own  concert  company,  and  my  first  tour  with 
my  own  company  on  the  road. 

But  to  retrace  our  steps  a  little.  We  were  so  well 
known  in  Finland  that  our  passports  were  not  signed,  and 
we  made  all  that  tour  of  Finland  and  German  Russia 
without  difficulty.  But  the  passports  were  so  covered 
with  stamps  that  it  was  impossible  to  see  any  writing. 
And  when  we  wanted  to  leave  Russia  to  go  on  to  Jassy 
in  Rumania,  we  were  stopped  at  the  frontier  —  and  as  my 
name  was  Ovide,  they  took  me  for  a  Jew.  Besides,  our 
entrance  had  not  been  stipulated  beforehand,  and  at  that 
time  the  telephone  and  telegraph  did  not  exist  as  to-day. 
I  had  to  go  back  to  Odessa,  a  journey  of  five  hours  by 


INCIDENT  IN  COPENHAGEN,  DENMARK      loi 

rail,  to  have  my  passport  signed,  and  to  be  identified  by 
the  Governor  of  Odessa,  with  v^hom  we  had  dined  a  few 
nights  before.  He  felt  very  sorry  for  our  plight,  but 
said  it  was  very  difficult  to  get  into  Russia,  and  very  dif- 
ficult to  get  out  again.  We  had  an  easy  time  going  in  on 
account  of  being  so  well  known  in  Sweden  and  Finland, 
but  the  trouble  began  when  we  left  Odessa  on  the  way 
to  Jassy  in  Rumania.  When  I  finally  got  back  to  the 
frontier,  and  the  passport  affair  straightend  out,  and  I 
was  found  not  to  be  a  Jew,  we  were  allowed  to  proceed 
to  Bucharest,  the  capital  of  Rumania.  From  there  we 
came  to  Vienna  again,  where  the  Company  disbanded, 
for  that  tour. 

My  recollection  as  to  the  people  who  attended  the  con- 
certs in  all  those  countries  was  that  although  the  nation- 
alities and  the  languages  were  different,  still  music  was 
music  to  them  all.  In  my  long  experience  I  have  found 
that  there  is  but  one  single  public,  no  matter  what  the 
language  or  nationality.  If  you  play  well  they  will  ap- 
plaud you.  If  you  do  not  play  well,  they  will  treat  you 
coldly.  Music  and  its  effects  are  psychological.  As 
Schopenhauer  said,  "  Music  is  the  psychological  essence  of 
the  universe,  the  universal  language  which  speaks  to  the 
heart  and  soul  of  every  human  being  who  has  an  ear  to 
hear." 

In  giving  my  experience  with  the  Master  Wieniawski,  I 
was  carried  along  by  sequence  of  thought  to  this  tour 
through  Russia.  I  had  already  been  for  some  time  be- 
fore the  public,  and  had  made  other  tours  with  cele- 
brated artists,  to  which  I  will  refer  later.  But  I  must 
not  conclude  my  account  of  the  Russian  tour  without 


I02  MY  MEMORIES 

mentioning  an  experience  we  had  in  getting  rooms  at 
hotels  —  which  were  not  in  those  days  what  hotels  are 
to-day  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  It  was  winter  time,  as 
I  have  said,  and  all  windows  were  double,  and  no  fresh 
air  could  enter  a  room  except  through  a  small  round 
slide.  In  entering  from  the  fresh  air,  the  atmosphere 
of  the  rooms  was  heavy  and  malodorous,  and  a  doctor 
advised  me  to  burn  a  little  tobacco  on  a  plate,  in  the  middle 
of  the  room,  to  kill  the  "  miasmus,"  and  it  occurs  to  me 
en  passant  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  permit  the 
use  of  tobacco  everywhere  in  time  of  epidemics  —  in  the 
theaters,  the  subway,  etc.,  etc.,  to  kill  the  germs  of  dis- 
ease. As  the  accommodations  were  very  limited  at  all 
those  hotels,  it  was  necessary  to  telegraph  a  day  ahead, 
to  be  sure  to  find  rooms.  At  Orel  we  telegraphed  to 
Kursk  to  have  four  rooms  awaiting  our  arrival,  but  to 
our  astonishment  our  party  of  four  was  conducted  to  one 
room,  number  four.  Mme.  Trebelli  was  obliged  to  share 
her  room  with  her  maid ;  and  Bisaccia  and  I  managed 
to  find  another  room,  which  we  shared.  As  to  the  food, 
aside  from  caviar,  smoked  fish,  and  the  like,  articles  on 
the  menu,  of  which  I  tired,  after  some  weeks  —  was  a 
black  bird.  These  were  served  about  five  or  six  times  a 
week.  There  were  no  big,  roasted  joints,  such  as  are 
served  in  England.  Outside  of  the  big  cities,  French 
cuisine  was  unknown.  In  Moscow,  the  restaurant  Oc- 
tave and  others  were  as  good  as  any  in  France.  In  fact, 
the  hotels  in  all  the  large  European  cities  had  French 
cooks, —  even  in  Constantinople. 


INCIDENT  IN  COPENHAGEN,  DENMARK      103 

Concerts  in  Germany 

Among  many  concerts  in  Germany  in  1882,  two  are 
worth  mentioning,  the  first  in  Wurzburg,  Bavaria,  at  the 
theater  with  orchestra.  Hans  von  Biilow,  who  was  there 
for  his  health,  consented  to  conduct  the  concert,  as  he 
was  a  good  friend  of  Mme.  Trebelh  and  of  Behrens,  the 
basso.  Among  other  pieces,  I  played  the  Romance  in  F 
of  Beethoven,  in  which  von  Biilow  advised  me  to  make 
a  cut,  which  certainly  improved  the  piece ;  and  as  he  had 
the  reputation  of  being  the  best  representative  of  Bee- 
thoven, I  have  always  played  the  Romance  in  that  way 
since. 

In  Wurzburg  I  met  Ritter,  the  inventor  of  the  large 
viola.  This  instrument  is  much  larger  than  the  regular 
viola  and  Bilse  adopted  it  in  his  orchestra  in  Berlin.  I 
have  never  seen  one  in  America. 

Another  great  event  was  a  state  concert  given  at  Hom- 
burg  by  Wilhelm  I  (grandfather  of  the  Kaiser).  The 
Emperor  was  on  his  way  to  Wiesbaden  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  a  new  monument. 

Among  the  great  notabilities  present  were  the  King 
of  Italy,  the  King  of  Baden,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  after- 
wards Edward  VII,  and  many  princes  and  princesses, 
all  of  royal  blood.  The  hall  was  arranged  with  small 
tables  and  small  groups  and  the  tall  Emperor  would  go 
from  one  table  to  another,  chatting  a  little  with  one 
and  a  little  with  another,  taking  his  seat  only  during  the 
pieces. 

This  concert  was  a  private  one  and  I  am  sorry  that  I 
did  not  write  down  all  the  royalties  who  were  there  at 


I04  MY  MEMORIES 

the  time,  but  the  old  Emperor  was  certainly  the  "  boss  of 
the  show." 

The  concert  was  composed  of  the  orchestra,  Madame 
Trebelli  and  myself.  We  appeared  only  once  and  the 
orchestra  twice. 

This  reminds  me  of  what  happened  a  few  days  after- 
wards in  Cologne  at  the  Hotel  du  Nord  (the  best  hotel 
at  that  time)  which  was  just  near  the  long  bridge.  The 
company  was  having  breakfast  in  the  garden  which  sur- 
rounds the  hotel  when  we  saw  a  commotion  among  the 
people  at  the  tables,  gentlemen  and  ladies  leaving  their 
breakfasts  and  running  towards  the  passage  which  led 
to  the  street.  We,  like  the  others,  wanted  to  know  what 
was  the  matter  and  we  learned  that  the  Prince  of  Wales 
was  leaving  the  hotel.  A  moment  after,  I  saw  Kelly 
(I  forgot  his  first  name),  the  private  secretary  of  the 
Prince,  whom  I  knew  very  well  as  a  member  of  the 
Regency  Club  of  London.  Then  the  Prince  and  his  suite 
came  out  and,  seeing  us,  came  to  Madame  Trebelli  and 
shook  hands  with  her  and  with  me  and  said  in  perfect 
French:  "  Mes  compliments  pour  I'autre  soir "  (My 
compliments  for  the  other  evening). 

Everybody  in  the  hotel  must  have  taken  us  for  royal- 
ties as  we  were  the  center  of  curiosity,  not  only  to  the  peo- 
ple there  but  also  to  the  waiters,  who  bowed  down  very 
low  when  we  finished  our  breakfast. 


CHAPTER  X 

HOW    I    CAME    TO    AMERICA 

This  concert  tour  in  Germany  and  Austria  took  place 
in  1883,  as  stated,  under  the  Austrian  manager,  Max 
Kugel,  and  as  it  was  satisfactory  for  every  one,  we  signed 
another  contract  for  1884,  to  make  a  second  tour  to 
Sweden,  Finland  and  Russia  which  was  to  last  the  whole 
winter.  The  company  was  about  the  same :  Zelia  Tre- 
belli,  cantatrice;  Bisaccia,  pianist,  and  myself. 

I  went  home  for  my  summer  vacation  when  I  received 
a  letter  from  Jarrett,  the  manager  of  Christine  Nilsson, 
that  arrangements  had  been  made  with  him  as  agent  for 
Henry  Abbey,  American  manager,  for  the  appearance 
of  Madame  Trebelli  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House, 
New  York,  that  all  had  been  fixed  with  Max  Kugel  and 
that  an  allowance  would  be  given  to  me  by  Mr.  Abbey 
and  that  a  manager  would  be  provided  for  my  appear- 
ances in  the  United  States. 

The  proposition  was  so  alluring  that  I  accepted  at 
once.  Louis  Ruben,  a  Scandinavian,  was  to  act  as  my 
agent  and  I  must  say  that  never  have  I  met  a  more  charm- 
ing man  in  business  transactions  than  Louis  Ruben. 

My  Impressions  of  America 

NEW    YORK 

When  I  first  came  to  America  and  landed  in  New 
York,  in  1884,  I  was  thirty  years  oW-     The  strenuous 


io6  MY  MEMORIES 

work  I  did  as  a  boy  in  preparation  for  my  career  —  such 
as  practicing  the  whole  of  the  six  sonatas  of  Bach  for 
the  vioHn  alone,  every  day  for  a  time  as  one  item  of  the 
work  —  and  the  trials  every  young  artist  must  be  sub- 
jected to  —  the  nervous  strain  of  countless  public  ap- 
pearances everywhere  in  Europe  for  fifteen  years,  more 
or  less,  had  left  no  marks  or  mars  on  my  physique.  My 
hair  was  thick  and  black  (one  lock  insisted  upon  hang- 
ing over  my  forehead!)  and  I,  therefore,  took  the  advice 
of  a  Parisian  barber  and  plastered  it  where  it  insisted 
upon  poising  itself, —  my  eyebrows,  beard  and  moustache 
were  likewise  flourishing,  my  complexion  ruddy,  my 
body  strong  and  muscular,  showing  that  I  enjoyed  the 
best  of  health,  and  consequently  felt  in  the  best  of  spirits. 
Accustomed  as  I  had  been  to  the  large  European  cities 
and  the  high  life  of  society  and  the  clubs,  I  was  neverthe- 
less impressed  with  New  York  as  a  city,  with  its  cele- 
brated Fifth  Avenue  and  chic  society,  with  the  con- 
veniences of  the  practical  side  of  life  in  the  hotels,  the 
big  Sunday  editions  of  the  papers,  the  freedom  and  energy 
of  the  people,  in  fact,  the  cosmopoHtan  life.  I  am  afraid 
my  friends  thought  me  very  lazy,  for  in  Europe  people 
rarely  breakfasted  before  noon,  and  in  Paris  one  becomes 
habituated  to  very  late  hours.  Callers  at  my  hotel  were 
astonished  to  find  me  still  in  bed  at  eight  or  nine  in  the 
morning,  whereas  they,  very  possibly,  had  been  "  on  the 
jump  " —  to  use  an  Americanism  —  since  seven  a.  m. 
Very  energetic  people  these  Americans,  but  all  depends 
upon  the  vocation.  An  artist  is  obliged  to  be  up  very 
late  at  night  and,  in  order  to  get  enough  sleep,  it  has  to 
be  sliced  off  in  the  day  time;  furthermore,  supposing  I 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  107 

were  to  get  up  at  American  business  hours,  I  would  be 
worn  out  by  the  time  I  had  to  appear  in  public.  I  don't 
believe  that  to  this  day  my  American  manager  ever  com- 
prehended why  I  slept  so  late  mornings ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  while  traveling  on  tours,  I  was  always  the  first  one 
down-stairs,  no  matter  how  early  the  train.  European 
managers  were  very  strict  with  all  their  companies  and  it 
did  not  require  much  schooling  to  acquire  the  habit  of 
being  punctual.  In  all  my  career,  I  never  missed  but 
one  concert  —  that  was  out  in  Iowa,  when  our  train  was 
stalled  in  a  snowdrift  and  finally  smashed  up  by  an  engine 
and  snow-plow  which  ran  into  us  with  a  momentum  of 
sixty  miles  an  hour.  Fortunately,  none  of  us  were  killed 
but  we  were  all  nearly  scared  to  death,  which  was  nearly 
as  bad,  and  the  effect  of  which,  together  with  some  cuts 
and  bruises,  was  to  lay  us  up  for  a  week.  The  people  of 
Des  Moines,  where  we  were  to  have  played,  had  waited 
until  ten  o'clock  for  us  to  appear,  and  I  was  not  blamed 
for  missing  that  concert !  They  were  reasonable  people 
and  neither  was  I  to  blame  for  the  heavy  snowdrifts  and 
the  stupidity  on  the  part  of  some  one  who  sent  that  engine 
and  snow-plow  along  at  sixty  miles  an  hour  to  shovel 
our  train  off  the  track  instead  of  the  snow.  Well,  I  have 
found  that  Americans  are  as  quick  as  they  have  the  repu- 
tation of  being,  but  the  lightning  speed  with  which  the  ad- 
juster for  that  railroad  company  got  from  St.  Paul,  Min- 
nesota, to  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  to  settle  up  with  banknotes 
in  bundles  before  we  were  out  of  bed  the  next  day,  fairly 
took  my  breath  away! 

This  story  is  a  digression  from  the  subject  of  the  pres- 
ent chapter,  but  I  recall  one  other  occasion  which  I  may 


io8  MY  MEMORIES 

mention,  as  it  was  an  important  affair.  Captain  Hodges 
of  St.  Louis,  an  uncle  of  my  wife,  had  arranged  to  have 
us  give  a  private  concert  at  Mr.  Kearns'  mansion  to  en- 
tertain about  a  hundred  distinguished  officers  of  the 
Army  and  Navy,  all  members  of  the  Loyal  Legion.  Cap- 
tain Hodges,  as  a  young  man  of  eighteen,  had  formed  his 
own  company  and  enlisted  with  them  in  the  War  of  the 
Secession  and  had  been  in  General  Sherman's  command 
in  the  March  to  the  Sea.  All  of  the  officers  to  be  enter- 
tained by  us  were,  of  course,  either  old  comrades  in  the 
war  or  very  dear  friends  and  he  was  particularly  anxious 
to  have  everything  go  off  all  right.  We  had  a  long  jump 
to  make  to  keep  the  engagement,  but  all  would  have  been 
well  but  for  delays  on  the  road.  Night  came  and  we 
were  still  far  from  St.  Louis.  The  hours  crawled  along 
and  it  was  midnight  before  the  city  was  reached;  but 
there  was  the  Captain  at  the  station,  waiting  for  us  and, 
without  changing  our  traveling  clothes,  we  were  hustled 
into  carriages  and  towards  Mr.  Kearns'  house.  As  the 
doors  of  the  mansion  flew  open,  what  should  greet  our 
ears  but  stentorian  tones  from  a  hundred  throats  singing 
old  war  songs.  The  officers  had  been  giving  themselves 
the  concert  in  our  place.  We  applauded  vigorously  and 
begged  for  more.  After  apologies  and  explanations,  we 
proceeded  to  make  up  for  lost  time.  With  stories  and 
more  music,  together  with  welcome  refreshments,  it  was 
nearly  daylight  before  we  parted  from  this  jolly  crowd 
and  sought  our  hotel.  This  was  a  memorable  event  and 
one  of  the  most  enjoyable  affairs  I  ever  attended  —  the 
best  part  of  it  was  to  see  the  calm  good  nature  with  which 
the  officers  met  the  aggravating  delay  on  our  part  and  the 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  109 

philosophical  way  in  which  they  started  amusing  them- 
selves. 

And  now  as  to  my  first  impressions  of  New  York  — 
Italian  opera  was  in  all  its  glory  and  about  to  receive  a 
knockout  from  the  Germans.  German  musicians  pre- 
dominated in  the  orchestras  and  as  conductors  of  so- 
cieties, and  there  would  soon  be  the  German  opera  and 
the  Metropolitan  Opera  House.  Dr.  Leopold  Damrosch 
and  Theodore  Thomas  were  leading  the  New  York  Sym- 
phony and  the  Philharmonic  Society  orchestra  concerts. 
I  made  my  first  bow  to  America  with  the  Symphony, 
playing  the  Mendelssohn  concerto  and  the  Folia  by 
CorelH.  New  Yorkers  had  known  the  playing  of  Vieux- 
temps,  Wieniawski,  Ole  Bull,  Sivori  and  Sarasate  and 
were  decidedly  connoisseurs.  I  had  no  complaint  to 
make  of  the  public,  whose  appreciation  was  everything 
that  an  artist  could  desire,  but  the  critics !  While  cer- 
tain of  them  were  flattering  enough,  there  was  great  di- 
versity of  opinion.  They  seemed  bound  to  differ  with 
one  another  and  as  most  of  them,  in  those  days,  were 
neither  violinists  nor  musicians,  I  soon  learned  to  estimate 
what  they  had  to  say  at  its  true  value.  I  made  a  second 
appearance  with  the  Symphony  Society  and  played  but 
one  number.  Dr.  Damrosch's  Concertstiick  in  four  parts. 
The  Doctor  had  been  one  of  the  violinists  of  the  town 
of  Brunswick,  Germany,  and,  at  one  time,  director  of  the 
opera.  I  had  to  get  this  work  up  in  about  three  weeks' 
notice  for  the  occasion.  It  is  an  excellent  work,  lasting 
about  twenty-five  minutes,  and  is  quite  difficult,  effective 
and  should  be  played  oftener.  I  also  played  it  at 
the    Metropolitan    Opera    House   at   a    symphony   con- 


no  MY  MEMORIES 

cert,  with  the  Doctor's  son,  Walter,  then  beginning 
his  career  as  a  conductor.  When  I  returned  to  London 
for  the  season,  I  put  it  on  my  program  and  as  Walter 
was  traveling  in  Scotland  with  Mr.  Carnegie,  I  in- 
vited him  to  come  to  London  to  conduct  his  father's 
work.  Theodore  Thomas  was  an  excellent  musician  and 
a  great  disciplinarian,  but  very  arrogant.  At  a  convivial 
board  of  the  German  society,  he  would  wax  warm  at  his 
success  and  demand: 

"  Who  are  the  three  greatest  conductors  of  the  world?  " 
Then  with  a  pause  between  each,  he  would  say : 
"  Hans   Richter !  —  von   Biilow !  —  and  the  third  ?  — 
who  is  it?  —  I,  Theodore  Thomas!!" 

But  certain  among  his  musicians  bore  him  a  grudge  for 
his  dictatorial  manner  in  differing  with  their  interpreta- 
tion of  solo  passages.  As  an  instance,  I  recall  that  one 
fiery  little  man  at  a  rehearsal  jumped  from  his  chair  and 
shaking  his  instrument  in  Thomas'  face,  cried : 

"  You  dare  to  criticize  my  way  of  playing?  I  will  tell 
you  before  the  whole  orchestra  that  you  are  far  from 
being  a  Hans  Richter!!"  and,  trembling  with  rage,  he 
left  the  rehearsal. 

I  had  an  experience  with  Thomas  at  the  Liederkranz 
Society  concert.  In  Europe,  the  Godard  concerto  had 
been  given  at  the  best  concert  and  I  had  played  it  with 
Sir  Frederick  Cowen  conducting  in  London.  I  put  it 
on  the  Liederkranz  program  for  one  of  my  numbers, 
as  an  interesting  novelty,  but  as  anything  French  was  an 
abomination  in  Thomas's  eye,  his  mannerisms  while  con- 
ducting this  work  were  mockingly  disdainful,  flippant  and 
insulting  to  the  composer  and  the  soloist.     His  buffoonery 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  iii 

caused  him  a  big  fall  in  my  estimation,  and  my  dislike  for 
the  man  was  probably  reciprocated,  for  I  have  reason  to 
believe  this  was  the  starting  point  of  an  idea  among  the 
Germans  in  the  United  States  that  I  was  not  a  classical 
player,  merely  a  showy  performance  of  pieces  of  virtu- 
osity. 

The  following  correspondence  gives  merely  one  in- 
stance where  this  idea  was  used  to  lower  me  in  the  esti- 
mation of  a  pupil  of  mine,  but  there  are  others  which  I 
could  state. 

Letter  from  Ovide  Musin  to  Eugene  Redewill 
New  York,  September  lo,  1918. 
Eugene  Redewill, 
Managing  Editor,  The  Violinist, 
431  South  Wabash  Avenue, 
Chicago,  111, 

Dear  Mr.  Redewill  : 

In  the  very  interesting  August  number  of  "  The 
Violinist "  you  say  "  large  symphony  organizations  " 
with  the  exception  of  Chicago,  have  been  "  cleaning  shop  " 
—  and  the  trouble  with  Chicago  is  that  the  leading  "  pro  " 
of  her  organization  is  elusive,  cunning,  beneath  the  sur- 
face and  hard  to  get  at.  The  enclosed  letter  (copy) 
shows  Mr.  Stock  up  in  his  true  light  as  a  German  belittler 
of  American  musicians.  You  will  notice  this  happened 
only  last  May,  according  to  Wallace  Grieves,  who  was 
much  too  modest  in  seeking  only  a  position  in  the  or- 
chestra, for  when  he  left  my  hands  he  could  have  ap- 
peared with  success  as  a  soloist  with  the  orchestra.  He 
took  the  prize  at  the  Chicago  contest,  as  you  may  recall. 


112  MY  MEMORIES 

People  in  this  country  have  been  too  long  fed  up  on 
the  German  idea  of  everything  German  iiber  Alles.  I  am 
only  a  Belgian,  but  if  I  were  an  American,  I  would  make 
such  a  surge  that  every  one  of  the  crew  would  be  swept 
out  to  sea,  never  to  come  back.  I  have  traveled  and  lived 
in  every  civilized  country  on  the  globe  and  have  always 
considered  Germany  as  the  most  inartistic  country  in 
the  world.  There  could  have  been  no  professional 
jealousy  between  Mr.  Stock  and  myself,  for  I  have  never 
heard  of  him  as  a  violinist  and  never  met  him  to  my 
knowledge,  and  I  was  never  connected  with  the  Bush 
Temple  Conservatory,  although  Mr.  Bradley  had  a  con- 
tract which  he  wanted  me  to  sign,  but  which  I  did  not 
sign.  I  was  in  Chicago  at  that  time  for  only  a  short 
time,  as  I  remember,  and  returned  to  Belgium  after  sign- 
ing for  a  concert  tour  with  Slayton.  Grieves's  letter  may 
be  useful.  Many  thanks  for  your  interest.  Am  sending 
you  my  fundamental  laws  of  bowing,  as  I  teach  them. 
Very  truly  yours, 

ovide  musin, 

Copy  of  Letter  from  Wallace  Grieves  to  Ovide 

MusiN 

About  August,  1918. 
Mr.  Ovide  Musin, 
51  West  76th  Street, 
New  York  City,  New  York. 

Dear  Mr.  Musin  : 

Being  that  you  have  heard  nothing  from  me  for  some 
time,  you  perhaps  think  I  have  gone  into  the  army.     Up 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  113 

to  about  six  weeks  ago,  I  was  in  limited  service  Class  I. 
A  call  came  from  a  contingent  from  Springfield  to  serve 
as  fire  guards  at  points  of  embarkation  and  I  was  notified 
accordingly.  After  making  preliminary  preparations 
prior  to  my  leaving,  I  received  a  re-classification  and  I 
am  now  in  Class  V.  A  heart  condition  which  I  have  is 
the  only  thing  which  prevents  me  from  going  into 
strenuous  service.  However,  I  am  trying  to  do  some- 
thing in  an  educational  way  here  in  Springfield  by  estab- 
lishing a  good  school,  and  we  think  education  in  war 
times  is  not  entirely  unessential.  I  hope  that  a  place  will 
be  found  for  me  where  I  can  do  some  active  part  more 
essentially  connected  with  the  war  program. 

An  instance  came  up  last  spring  which  I  have  often 
wanted  to  tell  you  about,  but  for  a  certain  policy  have 
hesitated.  I  am  a  loyal  pupil  of  yours  and  a  friend  — 
and  at  this  time  I'm  going  to  state  the  true  facts  to  you : 

Last  May  I  played  for  Frederick  Stock  of  the  Chicago 
Symphony  Orchestra.  My  hearing  was  arranged  by  the 
manager  of  the  orchestra  with  a  view  of  securing  a  posi- 
tion with  the  orchestra  at  a  later  date.  There  was  no 
piano  in  Mr.  Stock's  office  and,  therefore,  I  had  to  play 
excerpts  of  Bach,  Beethoven  Romance,  Mendelssohn 
concerto  unaccompanied,  and,  of  course,  to  somewhat  of 
a  disadvantage.  Well,  as  soon  as  Mr.  S.  found  out  I  had 
studied  with  you,  he  proceeded  to  belittle  my  playing  — 
criticized  my  bowing  unmercifully  (and  I  know  I  did  not 
play  so  "  rotten  "  on  that  occasion)  and  say  other  things 
uncomplimentary  about  your  teaching.  Since  many 
members  of  the  orchestra  have  been  called  before  the 
Federal  authorities  recently  for  explanations  of  alleged 


114  MY  MEMORIES 

disloyal  remarks  and  Mr.  Stock's  loyalty  itself  questioned, 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  continue.  He  kindly  told  me  that 
my  three  years  with  you  had  been  wasted  (I  know 
differently)  and  that  your  teaching  in  Chicago  at  the 
Bush  Conservatory  had  been  anything  but  creditable. 
These  were  not  his  exact  words,  but  it  is  the  substance  of 
his  conversation.  He  asked  me  why  I  have  not  studied 
with  certain  German  teachers  of  Chicago.  It  does  not 
seem  right,  at  this  time,  that  German  musicians  should 
have  such  an  important  place  in  musical  affairs  —  con- 
ductor of  one  of  the  best  orchestras  in  the  country!  He 
said  he  taught  at  the  Bush  Conservatory  when  you  were 
there  and  right  away  I  thought  he  must  have  some  jealous 
grievances  against  you.  I  told  Leon  Sametini  about  it. 
He  thought  it  very  small  in  Mr.  S.  and  said,  "  I  know 
what  you  can  do."  Mr.  Sametini  was  a  judge  in  the 
Chicago  contest,  and  I  consider  him  a  good  friend  of 
mine.  Maurice  Goldblatt,  of  Chicago,  has  also  spoken 
in  glowing  terms  of  you.  My  fingers  have  burned  since 
then  to  write  you,  but  fearing  it  was  not  the  right  thing 
to  do,  I  have  refrained  from  doing  so.  I  know  you  can 
teach  other  things  besides  tricky  little  vaudeville  pieces, 
as  Mr.  Stock  said  you  did.  I  remember  the  time  you 
would  have  me  spend  with  Bach  and  Beethoven  and  I 
profited  immensely. 

I  think  I  have  told  you  everything  I  have  in  mind  at 
present,  so  will  close,  hoping  this  finds  you  in  the  very  best 
of  health,  and  with  kindest  regards  to  Mrs.  Musin  and 
yourself,  I  am  Your  loyal  pupil  and  friend, 

Wallace  Grieves. 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  115 

It  is  well  known,  of  conrse,  that  large  numbers  of 
Germans  came  to  America  to  escape  the  grinding  process 
of  Prussian  militarism,  as  the  great  German  scientist 
Haeckel  said  in  his  book  "  Last  Words  on  Evolution," 
which  was  published  in  1905,  i.  c,  "  It  is  only  a  few 
weeks  since  the  Prussian  Minister  of  Worship  made  a 
dangerous  attempt  to  suppress  Academic  freedom,  the 
palladium  of  mental  Hfe  in  Germany.  This  increasing 
teaching  recalls  the  sad  days  of  the  eighteenth  and  nine- 
teenth centuries  when  thousands  of  the  finest  citizens  of 
Germany  migrated  to  North  America  in  order  to  develop 
their  mental  powers  in  a  free  atmosphere." 

It  goes  without  saying  that  these  excellent  people  and 
others  who  came  later  and  their  descendants  became 
staunch  Americans.  I  had  many  warm  friends  among 
the  German-Americans.  Carl  Schurz  was  in  Washing- 
ton and  I  knew  him  personally.  There  was  William 
Steinway  and  his  sons  —  Charles  F.  Tretbar  of  Steinway 
and  Sons  was  an  intimate  friend  of  mine, —  Knabe  and 
his  sons,  Seligman,  the  banker,  and  his  family.  Alfred 
Seligman  was  one  of  my  dearest  friends  and  an  artist 
himself.  And  there  are  hosts  of  others,  charming 
friends  whom  I  shall  always  remember  with  pleasure. 
It  was  not  the  good  German-Americans  who  counte- 
nanced the  propaganda  of  the  wily  Prussians  which  had 
been  for  some  time  instilling  its  poison  into  the  mentality 
of  native-Americans  through  music,  their  so-called  Ger- 
man music.  The  geniuses  of  Bach,  Beethoven,  Richard 
Wagner,  Brahms  and  the  rest  were  exploited  as  a 
product  of  German  nationality. 

Here  is  an  example  taken  from  an  American  Ency- 


ii6  MY  MEMORIES 

clopedia  of  Music,  which  quotes  a  book  by  Forl<el  in 
which  he  says,  in  speaking  of  Bach's  "  well-tempered 
Clavier  " :  "  In  general,  both  parts  of  the  work  contain 
a  treasure  of  art  which  cannot  be  found  anywhere  but  in 
Germany."  American  students  rushed  to  Germany  in 
throngs  as  to  the  only  fountain-head  of  musical  knowl- 
edge, and  yet  Beethoven  had  to  struggle  for  artistic  ex- 
istence and  Wagner's  music  was  reviled  by  the  German 
press,  even  to  the  great  days  of  Bayreuth.  Prussian 
propaganda  sacrilegiously  appropriated  that  which  is  di- 
vine in  art  to  further  their  political  schemes  and  dazzle 
the  whole  world  with  the  superiority  of  the  German  na- 
tion in  the  field  of  music  as  in  everything  else.  All  music 
which  was  not  so-called  German  music  was  belittled  and 
sneered  at  until  Americans  became  impregnated  with 
the  idea  and  felt  subconsciously  perhaps,  in  regard  to  the 
efforts  of  American-born  composers,  that  "  nothing  good 
could  come  out  of  Nazareth." 

Excellent  work  is  being  done,  particularly  on  the  part 
of  the  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  in  weeding  out  any 
remnant  of  incredulity  as  to  the  genuine  talent  of  Ameri- 
cans. But  why  such  haste  for  the  appearance  of  a  master 
composer  in  America?  The  feverish  desire  to  produce 
a  work  which  will  place  the  name  of  an  American  on  the 
plane  of  the  greatest  geniuses  may  defeat  the  aim  and  the 
object.  Knowledge  is  possible  to  all  and  inspiration  will 
come  to  him  who  has  knowledge  "  from  out  of  the  blue," 
"  far  from  the  madding  crowd,"  in  the  quiet  of  the  fields 
or  on  the  mountains  where  the  "  still  small  voice  "  may 
be  better  heard.  It  is  natural,  proper  and  laudable  for 
every  one  to  rejoice  at  deeds  done  by  one's  fellow-coun- 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  117 

trymen  in  any  line  of  noble  achievement,  but  the  Prus- 
sian propaganda  throughout  was  based  on  false  pre- 
tenses, in  music  particularly,  as  the  following  article  will 
demonstrate. 

Reprint  of  an  Article  which  Appeared  in  the 
Indianapolis  Star. 

German  Propaganda  Spread  in  Music  is  a  Great  Menace. 
By  Gaylord  Yost. 

(Editor's  note:  A  careful  reading  of  the  list  of  musical  artists 
compiled  by  Mr.  Yost  in  the  following  article  shows  it  to  be  very 
incomplete.  Without  making  any  additions  or  corrections,  it  may 
be  said  in  proportion  and  average  it  would  remain  the  same  were 
the  entire  list  of  names  of  world  artists  added.) 

In  the  past  four  years  the  people  of  the  civilized  world 
and  particularly  those  of  America  have  learned  to  what 
menacing  proportions  the  German  people  have  succeeded 
in  spreading  German  "  kultur  ''  propaganda.  Few  there 
are  who  fully  realize  how  extensive  and  far-reaching 
this  has  been.  It  has  extended  to  almost  every  field  of 
human  endeavor.  Not  alone  to  the  great  industrial  field 
but  to  the  fine  arts  as  well.  At  last  we  have  found  that 
the  Germans  have  been  chiefly  boasters,  who  have  ap- 
propriated the  ideas  of  other  nations  and  given  them  to 
the  world  labeled  "  Made  in  Germany." 

The  whole  system  of  German  education  is  inflexible, 
or,  in  other  words,  of  "  blood  and  iron."     Their  national- 
attitude   is   one  of   superiority  pertaining   to   all   things 
relative   to   humanity.     Their   egotism   and    inflexibility 
superimposed  by  their  educational  system,  account   fer- 
tile present  war. 


ii8  MY  MEMORIES 

There  is  one  phase  of  the  German  propaganda  which 
has  had  practically  no  publicity  and  it  is  to  this  that  I 
desire  to  call  the  attention  of  the  American  people. 

Before  the  war  started,  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  music 
students  going  to  Europe  went  to  Germany  to  study. 
The  cities  of  the  German  Empire  were  supposed  to  af- 
ford a  better  atmosphere  for  the  development  of  their 
respective  talents.  I  went  to  Germany  with  this  idea 
in  mind  and  spent  some  time  in  Berlin  as  well  as  other 
German  cities.  Therefore,  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
closely  studying  their  systems  and  conditions.  In  Ber- 
lin one  could  hear  more  mediocre  concerts  than  in  any 
other  city  in  the  world.  Their  operatic  productions  could 
not  compare  with  those  of  the  New  York  Metropolitan  or 
Chicago  Grand  Opera  companies.  Their  symphony 
orchestras  are  well  trained,  but  I  am  sure  that  there  are 
at  least  a  half  dozen  in  America  superior  to  any  in  Ger- 
many. I  found  that  many  of  the  pedagogues  and  artists 
residing  there  were  not  Germans,  but  artists  from  other 
countries  who  went  there  because  the  German  propa- 
ganda had  focused  the  eyes  of  the  world  upon  Germany 
as  the  musical  center  of  the  universe.  I  went  to  Ger- 
many because  of  this  propaganda,  but  am  thankful  that 
I  fell  into  the  hands  of  Issay  Barmas,  a  Russian  Jew, 
then  a  resident  of  Berlin,  with  whom  I  studied. 

German  Music  Lovers 

It  is  true  that  the  German  people  are  music  lovers  and 
have  maintained  national  schools  for  the  development 
of  the  fine  arts,  all  of  which  is  excellent  and  highly  com- 
mendable.    However,  what  I  am  about  to  disclose  will 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  119 

convince  the  unprejudiced  mind  that  the  German  methods 
of  teaching  music  do  not  produce  great  artists.  In  these 
methods  we  find  the  same  inflexibihty  and  egotism  which 
marks  their  national  life.  The  German  mind  is  cold, 
pedantic,  stolid,  philosophic  and  rigid,  lacking  the  imag- 
inative and  plastic  qualities  which  are  prerequisites  of 
art.  I  readily  admit  that  they  are  good  drill  masters. 
They  know  how  to  beat  time  and  are  exacting  in  accuracy. 
They  are  sticklers  for  tradition  and  mechanical  perfec- 
tion. They  are  faithful  workers  but  are  clumsy  and 
seldom  elegant.  From  Germany  have  come  some  of  the 
world's  greatest  composers,  such  as  Bach,  Beethoven, 
Brahms  and  Wagner.  Kindly  note  that  all  of  these  are 
of  past  generations.  Since  Wagner  we  find  no  German 
composers  of  marked  individuality  or  charm.  The  Ger- 
man may  know  how  to  write  counterpoint  and  compose 
scholarly  music;  he  may  be  a  good  drill  master  and  an 
indefatigable  worker,  but  he  is  not  an  executant  because 
his  national  schooling  and  natural  bent  of  mind  are  nar- 
row and  inelastic,  therefore,  c[uite  restricted  in  the 
broader  sense. 

And  now  I  shall  give  a  carefully  prepared  list  of  the 
world's  greatest  contemporary  artists,  showing  the  na- 
tionality of  each,  thus  proving  that  Germany  can  claim 
but  a  very  small  per  cent,  as  her  own,  and  still  she  has 
boasted  that  there  is  only  one  school,  only  one  musician 
with  the  true  impulse  —  the  German ! 

Pianists:  Harold  Bauer,  English;  Busoni,  Italian; 
Godowsky,  Russian  Jew ;  Ganz,  Swiss ;  D'Albert,  Scotch ; 
Paderewski,  Polish;  Josef  Hofmann,  Russian;  Gabrilo- 
witsch,  Russian  Jew ;  Dohnanyi,  Hungarian ;  De  Pach- 


I20  MY  MEMORIES 

mann,  Russian ;  Lhevinne,  Russian  Jew ;  Alexander  Siloti, 
Russian ;  Moritz  Rosenthal,  Austrian  Jew ;  Mark  Ham- 
bourg,  Russian  Jew ;  X.  Scharwenka,  Polish ;  Frederic 
Lamond,  Scotch;  Katherine  Goodson,  English. 

Violinists :  Ysaye,  Belgian ;  Kreisler,  Austrian  Jew ; 
Thibaud,  French;  Sauret,  French;  Marteau,  French;  Ku- 
belik,  Bohemian ;  Zimbalist,  Russian  Jew ;  Elman,  Rus- 
sian Jew;  Heifetz,  Russian  Jew;  Spalding,  American; 
Maud  Powell,  American ;  Mary  Gailey,  American ;  Witek, 
Bohemian;  Petschnikoff,  Russian;  Hubay,  Hungarian; 
Cesar  Thomson,  Belgian ;  Musin,  Belgian ;  Sevcik,  Bo- 
hemian ;  Auer,  Hungarian  Jew ;  Eddy  Brown,  American ; 
Macmillen,  American ;  Arthur  Hartmann,  Hungarian 
Jew ;  Kocian,  Bohemian ;  Ernesco,  Roumanian ;  Joan 
Manen,  Spanish ;  John  Dunn,  English ;  Nachez,  Spanish  ; 
Loeffler,  French. 

Cellists :  Casals,  Spanish ;  Jean  Gerardy,  Belgian ; 
May  Mukle,  English. 

Singers:  Farrar,  American;  Tetrazzini,  Italian; 
Mabel  Garrison,  American;  Caruso,  Italian;  Galli-Curci, 
Italian;  McCormack,  Irish;  Bonci,  Italian;  De  Gogorza, 
Spanish ;  Mary  Garden,  Scotch ;  Maggie  Teyte,  English ; 
Stracciari,  Italian;  Charles  W,  Clark,  American;  Dal- 
mores,  French ;  Julia  Gulp,  Dutch ;  Schumann-Heink, 
Bohemian ;  Julia  Claussen,  Swedish ;  Matzenauer,  Hun- 
garian; Sembrich,  Polish;  Melba,  Australian;  Rappold, 
American ;  Jean  de  Reszke,  Polish ;  Emmy  Destinn,  Bo- 
hemian; Clara  Butt,  English;  Alma  Gluck,  American; 
Christine  Miller,  American.. 

German  Artists : 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  121 

Violinists:  Willy  Burmeister  and  Willy  Hess  (both 
pupils  of  Joseph  Joachim,  Hungarian  Jew). 

Pianists:  Arthur  Schnabel,  Wilhelm  Bachaus,  Risler 
(studied  in  France),  Emil  Sauer  (studied  in  Russia,  later 
with  Liszt,  Hungarian). 

Singers:     Frieda  Hempel,  Gadski,  Karl  Jorn. 

This  list  speaks  for  itself.  In  conclusion,  several 
other  salient  points  deserve  our  attention.  Puccini,  an 
Italian,  stands  out  as  probably  the  greatest  operatic  com- 
poser of  this  generation.  Debussy,  a  Frenchman,  is  the 
most  distinct  creative  genius  of  this  age,  having  given 
to  the  world  a  new  style  of  music.  The  great  Paderew- 
ski  studied  with  Leschetizky,  a  Pole.  Busoni  was  a  pu- 
pil of  Liszt,  who  was  a  Hungarian.  Godowsky  was 
practically  self-taught,  with  the  exception  of  a  short 
period  spent  with  Saint-Saens,  the  French  composer  and 
pianist.  Joseph  Joachim,  who  for  so  many  years  was 
at  the  head  of  the  Hochschule  in  Berlin,  was  a  Hungarian 
Jew  and  was  succeeded,  upon  his  death,  by  Henri  Mar- 
teau,  a  Frenchman.  Kreisler  and  Thibaud  were  schooled 
in  France.  Kubelik  studied  in  his  native  land  with  Sev- 
cik,  a  Bohemian.  Practically  all  of  the  other  distin- 
guished artists  named,  except  the  German  ones  not  other- 
wise indicated,  studied  not  in  Germany  but  in  Russia, 
France,  Italy,  Belgium,  Bohemia,  Austria  or  America. 

It  is  time  for  Americans  to  drop  the  fallacious  idea  of 
Germany's  wonderful  achievement  and  supremacy  in  mu- 
sical art  for,  as  I  have  shown,  the  facts  point  indisputably 
to  a  decided  decadence  in  German  pedagogic  science  and 
creative  art.     If  the  German  mind  and  methods  of  mu- 


122  MY  MEMORIES 

sical  instruction  are  so  preeminent,  why  have  they  not 
produced  greater  artists? 

Copy  of  My  Letter  which  Appeared  in  the  New 
York  Herald  of  November  6th,  1918 

German  Music 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Herald. 

The  recent  editorial  in  the  Herald  headed  "  Teutons 
Losing  in  Arts,"  which  says,  "  Another  Teutonic  myth 
passes,"  etc.,  should  awaken  every  American  to  increased 
perception  of  the  workings  of  the  Prussian  propaganda. 
Another  myth  which  must  pass  before  American  musi- 
cians have  their  rights  is  that  fetish  of  so-called  German 
Music. 

There  were  great  musicians  who  happened  to  have  been 
born  in  Germany,  just  as  there  were  and  are  other  great 
musicians  who  happened  to  be  born  in  other  countries, 
but  there  is  no  such  thing  as  German  music.  H  ]^ach, 
Beethoven,  Wagner  and  the  rest  were  alive  to-day  they 
would  be  the  first  to  deny  that  the  German  nation  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  it.  .   .  . 

Frederick  the  Great  said  he  would  rather  hear  a  horse 
laugh  than  to  hear  a  German  trying  to  be  a  prima 
donna.  .  .  . 

Ovide  Musin. 

New  York  City, 
Nov.  4th,  19 18. 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  I  knew  very  well  indeed.  He 
was  a  great  preacher,  and  a  vast  congregation  from  all 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  123 

parts  of  the  country  besides  his  regular  members  thronged 
to  his  church.  I  played  during  his  services  and  met  many 
distinguished  Americans  there.  It  is  sad  to  think  how 
many  great  ones  —  descendants  of  the  pioneers  —  have 
passed  the  bourne  from  which  there  is  no  returning.  But 
their  spirit  has  impregnated  that  of  the  younger  genera- 
tions and,  for  me,  America  will  always  be  "  God's  coun- 

try." 

The  following  experience  has  never  been  duplicated,  I 
venture  to  say,  by  any  violinist  in  the  world,  and  I  trust 
never  will  be. 

I  found  it  to  be  the  custom  in  this  country  to  use  the 
churches  as  concert  halls,  and  among  such  was  the 
Clinton  Avenue  Baptist  Church  in  Brooklyn.  The  seats 
of  the  large  auditorium  were  arranged  in  amphitheater 
form,  rising  tier  upon  tier  in  front  of  the  pulpit.  My 
company  was  engaged  for  a  concert  there,  and  we  were 
assembled  in  the  waiting  room  which  was  a  few  steps 
below  and  back  of  the  pulpit. 

As  it  was  about  time  to  begin  the  program  —  I  to  play 
the  first  number  —  with  violin  and  bow  in  hand  I 
mounted  the  short  flight  of  steps  in  the  dark,  to  peer 
between  the  curtains,  to  see  if  the  piano  was  properly 
placed,  and  my  first  step  forward  launched  me  into  a 
void,  from  which  I  plunged  into  a  tank  full  of  water. 
The  baptismal  font  had  been  left  open,  perhaps  to  entrap 
an  unwary  sinner.  Imagine  my  consternation!  I 
floundered  about  in  the  water  a  bit ;  but  finally  getting 
my  bearings,  I  emerged  soaking  wet,  and  my  shoes  full 
of  water!  My  company  burst  into  roars  of  laughter 
when  I  appeared,  dazed  from  my  ducking,  and  hastened 


124  MY  MEMORIES 

to  wring  me  out  as  much  as  possible,  and  some  one  pulled 
off  my  shoes !  That  was  the  climax !  for  there  were  no 
stores  in  that  part  of  Brooklyn,  and  it  was  Saturday 
night,  so  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  pull  my 
shoes  on  again,  which  was  a  difficult  process  at  which 
several  had  to  lend  a  hand.  Finally  red  as  a  turkey- 
cock,  with  my  efforts,  I  had  to  appear  just  as  I  was,  the 
water  trickling  from  my  clothes  down  into  my  shoes  and 
into  the  carpet.  As  I  walked  on  the  stage  you  could 
distinctly  hear  the  swis'h  swash  of  the  water ;  but  the 
audience  seemed  not  to  notice  it.  Their  attention  being 
taken  up  with  the  music,  my  crumpled  appearance  ap- 
parently passed  unobserved.  It  was  difficult  for  me  to 
calm  the  laughter  of  my  company  so  that  they  could  go 
on  with  the  program ;  but  when  it  was  over  with,  I  took 
a  carriage  to  a  hotel,  had  a  hot  bath  and  a  hot  punch  and 
was  none  the  worse  for  my  unexpected  baptism;  but  on 
the  contrary,  I  trust  I  was  made  a  better  man  by  it. 

This  incident  was  spread  broadcast  by  the  Associated 
Press,  and  many  a  time  I  was  joked  about  being  a  Bap- 
tist. On  a  tour  out  West,  I  happened  to  meet  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Talmage,  who  was  lecturing,  and  he  said  to  me : 
"  Mr.  Musin,  I  see  that  we  have  made  a  good  Baptist 
of  you." 

One  rarely  encounters  nowadays  what  are  called  old- 
fashioned  Americans,  but  I  came  closely  in  contact  with 
one,  a  gentleman  of  the  Old  School  Presbyterians,  an 
elder  in  the  church,  a  counselor  at  law  for  the  Con- 
necticut Mutual  and  New  York  Life  Insurance  Com- 
panies who,  in  1885,  was  duly  admitted  and  qualified  as 
an  attorney  and  counselor  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  125 

United  States  at  Washington,  D.  C.  This  gentleman 
was  frequently  mistaken  for  Horace  Greeley  although  his 
linen  was  always  immaculate  and  he  wore  a  high  hat  and 
never  appeared  wearing  a  long  linen  duster,  or  a  scraggy 
beard  under  his  chin,  like  the  great  Horace  Greeley  who 
had  "  the  courage  of  his  convictions  "  and  was  one  of  the 
most  highly  respected  of  the  intellectual  lights  of  Amer- 
ica. Although  my  friend  was  always  shaved  smoothly 
and  clean,  there  was  a  strong  resemblance  between  the 
two  faces,  the  penetrating  blue  eyes  and  gold  spectacles. 
Whether  Horace  Greeley  was  a  strictly  non-indulger  in 
intoxicants,  I  do  not  know,  but  my  friend,  the  Judge, 
had  never  touched  or  tasted  liquor  in  his  life,  being  of 
Puritan  New  England  descent  and  belief.  One  day  I 
happened  to  be  in  Detroit  and  the  leading  hotel  in  those 
days  was  the  Russell  House,  managed  by  McCreery,  who 
was  a  good  friend  of  mine.  McCreery  played  the  violin 
and,  being  extremely  partial  to  artists,  he  always  gave 
me  the  same  large  room  on  the  first  floor.  I  invited  the 
Judge  to  lunch  with  me  but  took  him  first  to  my  room, 
where  I  said  I  felt  like  having  a  Martini  cocktail.  I 
said : 

"  J^dge,  will  you  join  me?  " 

"  Martini  cocktail  ?  What  is  that  ?  I  know  the  word 
cocktail  but  I  never  tasted  one." 

I  explained  the  combination,  saying  it  derived  its  name 
from  the  Martini  of  the  Italian  restaurant  in  New  York, 
probably.  At  any  rate  the  two  cocktails  were  brought 
up  and  I  said: 

"  This  will  give  you  a  fine  appetite,  Judge  —  you  will 
like  it." 


126  MY  MEMORIES 

I  drank  mine  and  watched  the  Judge,  who  politely  sipped 
a  little  but  set  aside  the  glass,  saying: 

"  I  am  afraid  it  will  spoil  my  appetite." 

This  incident  goes  to  prove  the  saying,  "  Train  up  a 
child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will 
not  depart  from  it."  I  saw  very  clearly  that  the  gentle- 
man, who  was  the  father  of  my  wife,  by  the  way,  would 
indulge  in  nothing  stronger  than  ice  water  as  a  beverage 
at  our  luncheon. 

In  view  of  the  mooted  question  of  prohibition,  it  is 
permissible  to  say  that  good,  old-fashioned  Americans 
thrived  very  well  on  water  and  even  on  ice  water,  but 
to  Europeans,  accustomed  for  hundreds  of  years  to  wine 
and  beer,  with  a  strong  prejudice  to  iced  drinks,  it  is 
difficult  for  us  to  understand  this  idea  of  their  harmful- 
ness.  No  doubt  wine  imparts  energy,  as  the  following 
story  will  prove :  In  Belgium,  a  farmer  had  a  mule 
which,  on  the  way  to  market,  always  stopped  half  way 
up  a  hill  to  rest.  No  urging  would  get  him  beyond  that 
identical  spot  no  matter  what  the  master's  hurry. 
Finally,  the  farmer  conceived  the  bright  idea  of  mixing 
a  pint  of  claret  with  the  animal's  oats  before  starting  out, 
and  from  that  time  on  the  mule  forgot  there  was  a  hill 
and  scaled  it  rapidly  whenever  the  oats  were  mixed  with 
wine.  Grapejuice  might  have  had  the  same  effect,  but 
we  do  not  know  the  juice  of  the  grape  in  Europe,  except 
in  its  fermented  and  clarified  form. 

I  was  better  able  to  understand  and  appreciate  the 
moral  strength  of  the  Puritan  pioneers  and  their  de- 
scendants in  this  great  country  after  some  stories  which 
the  Judge  told  me  of  his  boyhood  days  in  Vermont  on 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  127 

Grand  Isle  in  Lake  Champlain,  Sunday  was  a  day  of 
rest  from  the  work  and  amusements  of  the  week  and  was 
passed  in  going  to  church,  in  reading  the  Bible  and  family 
prayers,  and  in  prayer  meetings.  All  thoughts  must  be 
turned  toward  divine  subjects  and  a  store  of  moral  in- 
spiration laid  up  for  the  coming  week.  But  sometimes 
the  Judge  and  his  brothers  longed  for  a  little  liberty  and 
he,  as  the  oldest  of  twelve  brothers  and  sisters,  was  the 
spokesman  when  asking  for  a  special  favor.  One  Sun- 
day afternoon  he  asked  his  mother  if  they  might  go  for 
a  little  walk,  and  she  said : 

"  Yes,  if  you  will  walk  in  the  cemetery." 
I  also  recall  meeting  Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett.  We 
crossed  the  ocean  on  the  same  boat  on  two  occasions. 
Once  on  the  S.  S.  Bourgogne,  which  was  afterwards  lost 
off  Sable  Island.  Mr.  Bennett  knew  Belgium  well,  and 
in  one  of  our  conversations  he  asked  me  why  we  had  so 
many  forts  in  Belgium.  I  said  that  it  was  to  protect 
ourselves  against  invasion ;  that  while  Belgium  was  not 
a  big  country,  still  any  nation  which  attempted  to  cross 
our  borders  would  find  that  we  could  put  up  a  stiff  fight. 
This,  I  think,  was  about  1894.  In  this  great  war,  we 
Belgians  proved  that  what  I  said  then  would  come  true, 
for  thanks  to  the  courage  of  our  great  King  Albert  and 
the  determined  resistance  with  which  the  Germans  were 
met  at  Liege  in  19 14,  their  rush  for  Paris  was  delayed 
and  the  Allies  enabled  to  make  a  stand  which  contributed 
an  important  factor  to  their  winning  the  war. 


128  MY  MEMORIES 

Singers  with  Whom  I  was  Associated  in  Europe 

AND  THE  United  States 

Sing^fs  in  Europe:  Patti,  Nilsson,  Tietjens,  Trebelli, 
Minnie  Hauck,  Bellocca,  Marie  Sass,  Scalchi,  Emma 
Thursby,  Gerster,  Lilli  Lehmann,  Sembrich,  and  Jean 
Faure. 

What  a  beautiful  bouquet  of  voices,  every  flower  the 
most  perfect  of  its  kind,  varying  in  tints  from  the  rich 
contralto  to  the  sparkling  purity  of  the  high  soprano ! 
What  a  chance  was  missed  by  the  great  impresarios  of 
those  days  to  unite  these  voices  in  a  composition  for 
female  voices  alone,  and  what  an  opportunity  was  missed 
by  composers  to  write  such  a  song,  suitable  to  the  im- 
mense talent  of  these  great  songstresses!  Many  of  the 
great  singers  of  those  days  were  good  musicians,  but 
Mme.  Sembrich  was  the  only  one  of  them  whom  I  knew 
to  play  the  violin.  At  the  benefit  to  Henry  Abbey,  at 
the  Metropolitan,  she  appeared  as  singer,  pianist  and 
violinist,  played  the  De  Beriot  concerto,  number  7,  which 
s'he  had  studied  with  me ;  played  it  on  my  Maggini  violin, 
which  I  loaned  her  for  the  occasion,  and  played  it  very 
well.     This  benefit  netted  over  $26,000  to  Abbey. 

American  sopranos :  Clara  Louise  Kellogg,  Emma 
Thursby,  Annie  Louise  Carey  (the  contralto),  Van 
Zandt,  Sybil  Sanderson,  and  other  American  singers  had 
shone  in  the  European  firmament  with  great  brilliancy. 
The  epoch  between  1850  and  1908  seemed  to  have  been 
particularly  favorable  to  the  outgrowth,  one  reason  being 
that  the  art  of  singing  received  adequate  attention  and 


HOW  1  CAME  to  AMERICA  129 

encouragement.  It  used  to  be  said  in  Europe  that  the 
greatest  charlatans  in  the  world  were  dentists  and 
singing  teachers,  but  the  American  dentist  is  king  to-day. 
American  teachers  of  music  in  all  lines,  and  the  natural 
American  talent,  are  both  handicapped  in  this  country  by 
erroneous  ideas.  The  teaching  may  be  of  the  best,  but 
what  is  to  be  expected  if  so  many  different  interests  and 
fancies  are  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  serious  steadfast 
purpose  of  developing  the  gift  and  the  acquirement  of  the 
means  by  and  through  which  it  may  manifest  itself? 
When  one  reads  the  thousand  and  one  branches  taught  in 
the  music  schools  and  conservatories,  and  the  dabbling 
done  in  a  little  of  each,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  real 
results  are  not  accomplished  in  any  one  line.  In  the  first 
place,  there  should  be  governmental  interest  and  financial 
protection  for  the  art  on  the  part  of  the  Government, 
as  in  my  own  country,  Belgium,  in  each  and  every  state, 
in  the  management  of  which  politics  shall  play  no  part, 
and  the  foundations  based  on  achievement  and  talent 
solely  for  directors,  professors  and  pupils.  The  mat- 
ter of  making  money  by  propagating  the  art  is  the  root 
of  the  evil.  There  is  no  need  to  go  further,  for  every 
teacher  and  every  pupil  knows  the  disintegrating  effects 
of  the  almighty  dollar.  Musicians  and  artists  in  my 
country,  who  were  educated  by  the  government,  are  not 
looked  upon  as  subjects  of  charity,  but  as  so  many  stars 
in  its  crown  of  artistic  achievement.  I  have  spoken  and 
written  on  this  subject  many  times  during  my  travels 
through  the  United  States  and  my  sojourn  in  New  York 
during  the  last  fifteen  years.  Every  little  seed  dropped 
by  the  wayside  will  spring  up  and  bear  fruit  some  time, 


130  MY  MEMORIES 

and  let  us  hope  that  at  no  very  distant  day  every  state 
in  the  Union  will  have  its  University  of  Music,  supported 
by  the  Government,  no  matter  if  it  pays  in  money  or  not. 
It  will  pay  in  Art. 

From  the  "  Nezu  York  Tribune  "  Sunday, 
October  12,  1^13. 

A  Review  of  Violinistic  Conditions 
IN  THE  United  States 

By  Ovide  Musin 

In  glancing  over  the  growth  in  the  field  of  music  which 
has  taken  place  in  this  country  since  the  landing  of  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago,  we 
should  find  great  advancement,  considering  the  length  of 
time  which  has  elapsed  and  the  vast  sums  of  money  spent 
on  music  of  late  years.  In  some  of  the  branches  and 
from  the  commercial  point  of  view,  we  do  find  that  such 
is  the  case.  Americans  are  great  lovers  of  music,  and  an 
astonishing  amount  of  natural  talent  is  continually  mani- 
festing itself,  irrespective  of  nationality;  but,  in  certain 
respects,  the  development  might  have  been  greater  had 
America  followed  the  example  furnished  by  several  Eu- 
ropean countries  which,  about  eighty  or  a  hundred  years 
ago,  founded  government  music  schools,  and  where  for 
hundreds  of  years  previous  to  this,  the  art  and  science  of 
music  and  instrument  making  were  fostered  by  the  church, 
the  rulers  and  the  nobility. 

While  the  purpose  of  this  article  is  not  to  criticize,  I 
trust  a  few  comments  on  some  of  the  other  causes  which 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  131 

I  believe  have  retarded  die  development  of  native  musi- 
cians —  violinists  in  particular  —  may  not  come  amiss, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  we  could  mention  the  names 
of  several  who  have  reached  a  high  artistic  plane  with- 
out going  abroad. 

Just  as  the  P'uritan  beliefs  have  been  a  great  moral 
force,  "  the  leaven  which  has  leavened  the  whole  lump  " 
of  national  character,  so  must  the  Puritan  religion,  which 
frowned  on  music,  have  exerted  for  a  time  a  powerful 
influence  in  checking  the  development  of  music  as  an  art 
and  its  being  chosen  as  a  profession.  Aside  from  hymns 
sung  in  the  congregation,  music  in  the  early  days  was 
considered  a  wile  of  the  evil  one,  and  musicians  as  inferior 
creatures.  Learning  was  otherwise  promoted  and  en- 
dowed by  government  and  private  wealth  and  as  time 
went  on  and  European  artistic  influence  crept  in,  organs 
were  installed  in  the  churches,  and  piano  playing  became 
an  accomplishment  in  the  education  of  young  ladies ;  and 
eventually  New  Englanders  took  the  foremost  rank  in  re- 
gard to  singing  and  oratorio  societies. 

With  the  advent  of  opera  came  musicians  of  different 
nationalities  whose  influence  has  been  great  in  the  musi- 
cal uplift.  European  stars  (singers,  pianists,  violinists 
and  others,  the  cream  of  Europe,  in  fact)  have  appeared 
here  season  after  season  for  many  years  and  have  gradu- 
ally awakened  artistic  aspiration  and  emulation  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  Real  apprecia- 
tion is  beginning ;  but  only  musicians  and  artists  who  have 
done  the  work,  know  from  personal  experience,  what  it 
means  to  become  one,  and  in  order  to  supply  an  artist  with 
an  audience  of  connoisseurs,  the  study  of  music  in  this 


132  MY  MEMORIES 

country  should  be  taken  much  more  seriously  by  people 
in  general. 

An  idea  exists  here  that  one  who  accepts  financial  aid 
in  getting  a  musical  education  is  more  or  less  an  object 
of  charity  and  that  any  one  who  respects  himself  will  get 
it  somehow  by  his  own  efforts,  perhaps  at  odd  moments 
taken  from  some  other  occupation,  whereby  a  little  money 
may  be  made  to  enable  him  to  pay  for  instruction.  The 
fact  is  that  to  become  an  expert  in  any  profession  requires 
concentration  and  ample  time.  Violinists  need  to  begin 
very  young,  the  younger  the  better ;  and  for  the  mastery 
of  their  instrument  require  years  of  constant  daily  train- 
ing for  the  development  of  the  functions  of  the  fingers, 
wrist  and  arm,  and  for  the  technique  and  control  of  the 
bow,  besides  the  study  of  music  as  a  science,  indispensable 
to  an  artist  or  connoisseur. 

This  question  is  regarded  and  treated  differently  in 
certain  European  countries  where  governments  have  taken 
it  in  charge,  founding  royal  and  national  conservatories 
of  music  (on  a  plane  similar  to  their  universities)  in 
which  students  are  given  the  best  instruction  in  all 
branches  free  of  cost,  the  rules  and  regulations  being  most 
strict  and  the  requirements  the  highest,  and  every  one  is 
obliged  to  "  toe  the  mark." 

The  object  is  not  to  make  money,  but  art  for  art's  sake, 
the  nation  esteeming  itself  amply  rewarded  by  the  freer 
and  wider  diffusion  of  musical  knowledge  and  culture  and 
the  honors  gained  by  its  proteges  throughout  the  world, 
its  singers,  instrumentalists,  composers  and  directors  of 
opera  and  orchestra.  The  Belgian  royal  conservatories 
(four  in  number,  the  first  to  be  established  being  that  at 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  133 

Liege)  are  so  managed  that  while  between  professor  and 
pupil  the  question  of  money  is  not  permissible  (the  gov- 
ernment being  responsible  for  the  salaries,  pensions,  build- 
ings, equipment  and  maintenance,  prizes  and  diplomas  — 
everything  in  fact)  still,  these  institutions  are  partially 
self-supporting  by  means  of  the  orchestral  and  chamber 
concerts,  oratorios  and  recitals  given  by  the  faculty,  lau- 
reates of  the  conservatory  and  eminent  soloists.  Their 
point  of  view  and  the  way  these  institutions  are  conducted 
and  managed  and  the  results  obtained  might  well  be  in- 
vestigated for  the  benefit  of  Americans  who  have  been 
and  still  are  handicapped  by  the  lack  of  such  institutions 
in  their  own  country. 

Another  disadvantage  which  afflicts  the  prospects  of 
many  in  this  country  who  are  naturally  gifted  for  the 
career  is  that  school  and  college  come  first  in  considera- 
tion, instead  of  making  the  general  education  supplemen- 
tal to  the  dominating  artistic  tendency.  Early  training 
in  playing  an  instrument  may  be  pursued  in  connection 
with  a  common  school  education,  but  after  that  and  as 
young  as  possible,  the  prospective  artist  should  be  enabled 
to  specialise  according  to  his  bent.  One  who  has  an 
artistic  mind  is  not  likely  to  neglect  the  languages,  his- 
tories, poets  and  philosophers,  and  the  time  will  be  found 
for  general  knowledge  during  the  unfolding  of  the  artistic 
powers. 

Teaching  of  singing  and  sight  reading  in  the  public 
schools  is  good  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  enough  time  cannot 
be  given  to  it  to  make  it  sufficiently  effective.  It  would 
be  better  were  the  money  now  expended  on  music  teaching 
in  the  public  schools  concentrated  ia  a  few  public  music 


134  MY  MEMORIES 

schools  for  such  children  as  have  the  disposition  for 
music. 

An  important  point  for  consideration  is  that  of  choos- 
ing competent  teachers  from  the  very  start  so  that  time 
will  not  be  wasted  by  having  later  on  to  correct  wrong 
methods  and  habits.  There  is  a  scientific  reason  why  a 
violinist  who  learns  to  play  with  a  correct  position  will 
have  more  ease,  control  and  endurance  than  one  who  has 
a  bad  position  in  playing,  and  the  proper  way  of  holding 
and  using  the  bow  will  produce  a  much  better  quality  of 
tone.  Scales  wrongly  fingered  will  produce  faulty  in- 
tonation, but  properly  fingered  and  practiced  will  always 
be  in  tune.  The  fundamentals  of  violin  playing  are  too 
often  neglected.  Violinists  come  to  me  from  all  parts  of 
the  country  who  say  they  have  been  through  all  the  studies 
and  exercises  of  such  masters  as  Kreutzer,  Fiorillo  and 
Rode,  but  when  I  ask  them  to  play  one  of  them,  they  are 
not  able  to  do  so.  And  it  is  the  same  with  scales.  If  I 
ask  them  to  play  one,  they  are  not  able  to  do  so,  although 
a  great  virtuoso  may  at  once  be  recognized  by  the  bril- 
liancy of  his  scales. 

This  general  superficiality  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
way  the  master  violinists  intended  their  studies  and  exer- 
cises should  be  worked,  is  not  sufficiently  understood. 
This  knowledge,  together  with  the  manner  in  which  the 
classical  composers  for  violin  intended  their  works  should 
be  rendered,  was  handed  down  by  these  masters  to  their 
disciples,  who  handed  it  on  to  the  master  violinists  of 
modern  times  who  have  respected  the  traditions  an(4 
formed  the  standard  by  which  an  artist  must  be  judged. 

The  works  of  Corelli,  Tartini,  Vivaldi,  Locatelli,  Vitali, 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  AMERICA  135 

Campagnoli,  Viotti,  Paganini,  Stamitz,  Spohr,  Kreutzer, 
Rode,  Fiorillo,  Baillot,  De  Beriot,  Lambert  Massart, 
Leonard,  Vieuxtemps  and  other  master  violinists,  together 
with  those  of  the  composers  Bach,  Beethoven,  Mozart  and 
Handel,  which  formed  the  basis  of  the  studies  and  reper- 
tory of  all  of  my  pupils  in  Europe,  and  as  far  as  possible 
in  this  country,  are  indispensable  to  the  formation  of 
technique,  taste  and  style. 

One  thing  which  should  be  avoided  as  far  as  possible 
is  the  custom  of  playing  in  public  before  one  is  properly 
prepared.  The  Royal  and  National  Conservatories  of 
Belgium  and  France  prohibit  all  students  who  are  not 
laureates  from  appearing  in  public,  and  from  teaching, 
without  special  permission  from  the  director. 

A  fever  for  technical  display  tends  to  turn  violin  play- 
ing from  its  true  mission,  namely,  that  of  rendering  in 
correct  tempo  and  style  the  meaning  and  feeling  of  the 
composer.  The  desire  to  play  rapidly,  to  make  a  lot  of 
notes  as  quickly  as  possible,  can  but  be  detrimental  to  the 
composition  as  a  whole.  While  too  much  attention  can- 
not be  given  to  the  technique  of  the  left  hand  (which  is 
the  means  to  the  end,  i.e.  interpretation,  and  not  digital 
acrobatics)  more  attention  should  be  given  to  the  control 
of  and  manner  of  using  the  bow.  The  left  hand  is  only 
the  workman,  the  mechanic ;  but  the  bow  enables  the  artist 
to  give  polish  to  the  technique,  color  to  the  interpretation 
and  to  give  expression  to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment. 
Progress  should  be  uniform  in  technique,  taste,  style  and 
musical  comprehension;  all  of  which  should  be  kept  in 
mind  until  mastered. 

The  aim  of  every  young  aspiring  violinist  should  be  to 


136  MY  MEMORIES 

excel  by  serious  work,  diligence  and  unflagging  energy. 
Speaking  of  excelling  reminds  me  of  an  ancient  Arab 
fable,  which  may  be  applied  to  any  profession,  but  more 
especially  to  the  arts : 

A  stork,  strutting  one  day  on  the  bank  of  a  pool,  said 
to  himself:  "  How  prodigal  Nature  has  been  to  me!  I 
can  run,  I  can  swim  and  I  can  fly.  If  I  am  tired  of  swim- 
ming, I  take  a  walk.  If  tired  of  walking  or  running,  I 
fly,  just  as  my  fancy  directs."  An  old  serpent  who  over- 
heard him  said :  "  Don't  boast  so  much,  my  friend. 
You  cannot  run  like  a  stag,  you  cannot  swim  like  a  trout, 
and  you  cannot  fly  like  a  hawk." 

The  ideal  and  necessary  point  in  order  to  shine  is  to 
excel  in  some  one  thing. 


CHAPTER  XI 

SOME    ODD    EXPERIENCES 

Here  is  an  experience  I  had  in  the  Southwest  in  a  town 
called  Texarkana,  the  name  formed  from  three  States, 
Tex  (Texas),  Ark  (Arkansas)  and  Ana  (Louisiana). 
At  that  town  you  had  only  to  cross  one  square  to  be  in 
another  State. 

My  manager,  R.  E.  Johnston,  had  made  a  contract  with 
the  manager  of  the  opera  house  but,  at  the  same  time,  had 
gathered  a  few  men  and  formed  a  committee  to  sell  the 
tickets,  with  the  promise  that  the  one  who  should  sell  the 
largest  number  of  tickets  would  receive  a  prize  from  me. 

When  I  arrived  in  the  morning,  I  met  a  few  of  these 
men  and,  according  to  what  they  said,  I  was  to  expect  a 
big  house.  One  said  he  had  sold  150  tickets;  another 
130,  and  a  third  had  sold  over  100  but  was  confident  he 
would  reach  200  before  evening.  I  had  reason  to  antici- 
pate a  very  good  business. 

Opposite  the  hotel  was  a  jewelry  shop  where  they  also 
sold  canes  with  gold  and  silver  heads.  I  went  into  the 
store  and  bought  a  beautiful  gold-headed  cane  for  four- 
teen dollars.  I  took  the  cane  with  me  to  the  theater  to 
offer  to  the  best  seller. 

Imagine  my  surprise  in  giving  the  concert  before  a  slim 
house.  Nobody  claiming  the  cane,  I  took  it  with  me  to 
Shreveport,  La.,  our  next  date. 

During  the  concert  in  Shreveport,  a  Sheriff  appeared 

137 


138  MY  MEMORIES 

with  an  order  to  arrest  me.  I  asked  why.  "  I  just  re- 
ceived a  telegram  from  Texarkana  with  orders  to  arrest 
you  because  you  stole  a  cane."  I  then  explained  the 
whole  matter  to  the  Sheriff  and  he  said :  "  I  thought 
that  it  was  an  April  fool  joke"  (this  being  the  ist  of 
April).  Then  the  Sheriff  asked  me:  "Are  you  going 
through  Texarkana  again  ?  I  said :  "  Yes,  to-morrow, 
as  we  are  booked  to  Litde  Rock  and  Fort  Smith." 

"If  you  were  not  going  back  I  would  say  keep  the 
cane,  but  if  you  are  obliged  to  cross  that  town  again,  bet- 
ter give  back  the  cane.  These  fellows  will  know  when 
you  pass  through  Texarkana  and  might  play  a  bad  trick 
on  you.     I  know  them;  they  are  a  bad  lot." 

I  said  to  the  Sheriff :  "  As  long  as  you  permit  me  to 
keep  the  cane  please  telegraph  to  Texarkana  that  I  will 
pass  through  there  the  next  day  on  the  afternoon  train 
and  that  I  will  have  the  cane  with  me." 

When  we  arrived  in  Texarkana  the  next  day,  I  was  on 
the  platform,  but  not  one  of  those  impostors  showed  up! 

Fargo 

As  a  rule,  in  small  towns  they  have  on  the  newspapers 
no  musical  critics.  The  same  reporter  will  report  a  fire 
or  a  murder  in  the  afternoon  and  cover  a  concert  in  the 
evening. 

This  is  an  experience  I  had  with  my  company  in  Fargo, 
North  Dakota. 

We  had  a  packed  house,  every  seat  being  sold  and  every 
number  encored,  repeatedly  after  certain  numbers.  But 
to  our  astonishment  the  principal  paper  gave  us  all  a 
terrific  roasting. 


SOME  ODD  EXPERIENCES  139 

The  next  morning  on  leaving,  the  critic  was  pointed 
out  to  me  in  the  waiting  room  of  the  station,  and  I  went 
to  him  and  asked  if  he  did  not  think  that  he  had  been 
rather  severe. 

He  repHed :  "  Well,  sir,  I  know  nothing  whatever 
about  music  and  did  not  care  about  being  the  representa- 
tive of  the  paper,  but  the  city  editor  told  me  to  cover  that 

concert  and  give  you  all  H ,  and  they  would  all  think 

I  knew  a  lot  about  it." 

Kansas  City 

One  time  in  Kansas  City  a  gentleman  sent  up  his  card 
stating  that  he  had  a  Cremona  violin,  a  genuine  Nicolo 
Amati,  to  show  me.  I  had  him  come  up  to  my  apartment 
and  after  showing  me  a  violin  of  no  value  whatever,  ex- 
cept the  label  inside,  which  he  thought  genuine,  he  told 
me  that  the  violin  had  belonged  to  his  great-grandfather 
in  Europe  and  that  many  amateur  connoisseurs  told  him 
it  was  worth  six  or  seven  thousand  dollars.  I  would  not 
have  given  him  ten  dollars  for  it. 

I  advised  him  to  go  to  a  violin  dealer.  During  the 
conversation  he  told  me  that  he  was  a  Mormon  from 
Salt  Lake  City,  that  he  had  heard  me  play  the  violin 
several  times  and  one  thing  that  had  always  surprised  him 
was  that  I  never  used  my  notes. 

"  But,  Mr.  Musin,  tell  me  frankly,  can  you  play  also 
with  notes?  " 

I  answered,  like  the  peasant  of  whom  somebody  asked : 
"  Around  your  village  have  you  some  mountains  ?  "  and 
he  answered,  candidly :     "  Sometimes." 


140  MY  MEMORIES 

San  Francisco 

When  in  San  Francisco,  where  we  had  been  extensively 
advertised  with  other  shows,  placards  with  my  visage  dis- 
played in  all  the  shop  windows,  some  of  the  gentlemen 
who  were  doing  the  honors  of  the  town  in  my  behalf  took 
me  to  a  dime  museum  where,  among  the  freaks,  was  an 
enormously  fat  woman  who  derived  considerable  income 
from  showing  the  dimensions  of  the  circumference  of  the 
major  portion  of  her  lower  extremities. 

As  it  came  her  turn  to  make  the  round  of  the  audience, 
with  her  box  attached  to  a  long  handle,  she  suddenly  spied 
me  holding  out  to  her  my  contribution,  on  which  she  ex- 
claimed:    "  Oh,  no,  Mr.  Musin,  not  among  artists!  " 

I  never  felt  so  cheap  in  my  life  before  the  people 
present. 

In  May,  1892,  I  finished  my  American  tour  (one  hun- 
dred and  sixty- four  concerts)  in  San  Francisco,  where 
we  had  admirable  success,  giving  three  Sunday  concerts 
with  orchestra  at  the  Baldwin  Theater  and  on  other  nights 
at  the  Bijou  Theater  —  twenty-four  concerts  in  three 
weeks  —  a  continuous  sojourn  in  this  delightful  city,  the 
people  of  which  were  most  hospitable  and  gave  us  an 
agreeable  change  after  the  hard  traveling  we  had  just 
undergone. 

The  Bohemian  Club  gave  a  memorable  frolic  one  night, 
many  members  of  which  were  personal  friends  of  mine, 
among  them  Sir  Henry  Heyman,  dean  of  the  violinists 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  who  afterwards  visited  me  in  Liege, 
Belgium,  at  the  time  of  our  annual  examination  at  the 


SOME  ODD  EXPERIENCES  141 

Royal  Conservatory.  At  my  request,  he  was  invited 
by  the  Commission  to  be  a  member  of  the  jury  which 
judged  the  young  musicians  and  awarded  the  prizes  at 
this  grand  contest.  Another  was  Joseph  D.  Redding,  a 
prominent  lawyer  of  San  Francisco,  well  known  to  musi- 
cal New  York  through  his  libretto  of  the  opera  "  Mona," 
the  score  by  Victor  Herbert,  given  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera  House  in  New  York  with  great  success  not  long 
ago. 

Joe  Redding,  as  all  his  friends  called  him,  was  also  an 
excellent  musician.  I  played  some  of  his  compositions 
and  they  were  a  success.  The  saying  was  current  among 
the  musicians  that  he  was  a  good  lawyer  and  among  the 
lawyers  that  he  was  a  good  musician.  At  the  high  jinks 
at  the  Bohemian  Club,  he  was  a  moving  spirit,  with  just 
a  shower  of  impromptu  witticisms,  and  also  a  clever  im- 
personator. 

My  name  was  proposed  for  honorary  membership  of 
the  Bohemian  and  I  was  elected  unanimously. 

We  were  assembled  there  one  evening  after  a  concert, 
when  the  question  of  a  tour  of  Australia  came  up  and 
as  I  had  in  my  pocket  a  telegram  from  J.  C.  Williamson 
of  Melbourne  and  Sydney,  I  decided  then  and  there  to 
accept  the  offer  and,  in  forty-eight  hours,  we  were  aboard 
the  ship  en  route  for  Honolulu,  a  journey  of  six  days 
under  the  most  delightful  conditions  as  to  weather. 

It  was  in  this  fashion  that  a  tour  was  decided  upon 
which  left  happy  and  agreeable  memories  to  all  those  who 
participated  in  it. 

These  memories  we  shall  try  to  impart  to  friendly  read- 
ers who,  quite  at  their  ease,  may  in  imagination  follow  us 


142  MY  MEMORIES 

into  lands  which  it  pleases  us  to  designate  as  exotic,  but 
from  which  the  picturesque  is  disappearing  from  day  to 
day,  being  supplanted  by  a  desolate  uniformity  of  man^ 
ners  and  customs. 

Since  my  first  season  in  America,  in  1884,  or  after 
seasons  in  other  countries,  I  would  go  back  to  Liege  and 
pass  four  months  of  the  summer  in  a  little  place  called 
Tilff  on  the  River  Ourthe,  which  was  good  tishing  ground, 
and  where  I  had  many  friends. 

One  summer  day,  I  happened  to  be  in  Liege  and  met 
my  friend,  Chevalier  de  Thier,  the  proprietor  of  the  jour- 
nal. La  Meiise.  He  asked  me  to  write  a  few  letters  about 
my  travels,  saying :  "  When  you  are  far  away,  it  will 
be  agreeable  to  your  friends  in  particular  and  to  the  public 
in  general."  I  promised  him  that  I  would  do  so  and  in 
going  around  the  world,  I  remembered  my  promise  and  in 
spare  moments,  while  traveling  from  one  place  to  another, 
I  sent  the  following  which  appeared  in  La  Mouse,  under 
the  title:  "  Un  Violoniste  aux  Antipodes  "  (A  Violinist 
in  the  Antipodes). 


CHAPTER  XII 

westward 

First  Letter  to  La  Meuse 

Honolulu,  May  i6,  1892 
Honolulu  is  united  to  San  Francisco  by  a  regular  line 
of  steamers.     It  was  the  ship  Australia  which  carried  us, 
in  seven  days,  across  the  distance  separating  the  continent 
from  the  Isles. 

The  passengers, —  mostly  rich  people  who  had  amassed 
fortune  in  pork,  lard,  leather,  or  chemicals, —  maintained 
a  reserve  full  of  dignity.  Most  of  them  were  from  Bos- 
ton, New  York  or  Philadelphia ;  and  had  embarked  like 
conscientious  tourists  from  San  Francisco,  desiring  to 
take  back  with  them  some  glimpses  of  the  tropics  of 
eternal  verdure,  and  the  equable  climate  always  tem- 
pered by  the  Pacific  breezes.  They  would,  perhaps,  get 
even  so  far  as  the  terrible  volcano  Kilauea  —  then  in  full 
eruption ;  and  returning  to  their  homes  in  a  country  of 
fogs  and  blizzards,  they  would  have  the  satisfaction  of 
ornamenting  their  tales  with  descriptions  of  a  rain  of  fire 
and  flows  of  molten  lava,  and  of  bombardments  with 
rocks ;  producing  varied  emotions,  at  a  fixed  price,  like 
Cook's  tours. 

But  here  we  are  on  the  first  leg  of  the  journey,  at  Hono- 
lulu, the  "  PJaradise  of  the  Pacific," —  full  of  flowers  and 

143 


144  MY  MEMORIES 

sunshine,  beautiful  palms  everywhere;  a  strange  new 
world  of  vegetation  attracts  the  attention,  and  the  air  is 
charged  with  pleasant  odors  brought  to  us  by  the  breezes 
from  the  land.  Here,  then,  are  those  tropics,  lost  in  the 
Pacific,  which  had  enchanted  me  when  as  a  child  I  read 
of  them  in  the  voyages  of  Captain  Cook. 

Our  ship  had  scarcely  entered  the  harbor  when  some 
young  olive-skinned  natives,  with  dazzling  white  teeth, 
came  swimming  and  plunging  about  the  boat,  imploring 
our  attention.  Of  a  sudden  they  would  disappear  in  a 
mass  of  arms  and  legs,  to  dive  and  fish  for  nickels  thrown 
into  the  water  by  the  passengers ;  through  the  clear  water 
we  could  plainly  see  the  pieces  of  money  gradually  sink- 
ing, and  the  boy  swimmers  diving  after  them.  Without 
fail  they  recovered  the  treasure,  and  popping  it  into  their 
mouths,  they  would  rise  to  the  surface  and  display  their 
finds,  eager  to  plunge  again  after  more. 

We  had  hardly  docked  when  we  were  boarded  by  the 
inevitable  reporters,  taking  notes  from  every  one ;  then 
we  began  to  mix  in  the  crowd.  Here  were  the  natives, 
dressed  in  the  latest  style ;  the  Chinese,  the  Japanese ;  the 
languages  clashing  in  the  air  —  Kanaka,  Portuguese, 
Chinese,  German,  English,  and  who  knows  how  many 
more?  and  meanwhile  this  devil  of  a  reporter,  full  of  as- 
surance, was  still  busily  informing  himself,  pencil  in  hand. 
Decidedly  there  is  a  lack  of  local  color  in  all  this,  since 
we  have  traveled  over  2000  miles,  only  to  find  ourselves 
still  in  the  midst  of  modern  civilization. 

We  put  up  at  the  Hawaiian  Hotel,  beautifully  situated 
among  gardens  full  of  flowers  and  palms. —  Hardly  were 
we  installed  in  our  rooms  when  visitors  were  announced ; 


WESTWARD  HO  I45 

people  unknown  before,  but  who  had  been  informed  of 
our  expected  arrival  by  mutual  friends  in  San  Francisco. 
They  came  to  offer  all  sorts  of  amiable  attentions,  placing 
at  our  disposition  horses,  carriages,  bathing-places  at 
Waikiki,  fishing  boats,  and  so  on;  and  to  extend  invita- 
tions for  all  sorts  of  entertainment,  in  the  most  kindly 
and  hospitable  manner.  It  was  then  suggested,  in  a  low 
voice  among  us  men,  that  after  nightfall  we  should  go  to 
witness  a  native  feast, —  a  real  Houla-Houla,  in  a  native 
village  outside  the  limits  of  the  city  and  beyond  the  sur- 
veillance of  the  police.  Meanwhile  the  director  of  the 
opera  house,  the  amiable  Mr.  Levey,  in  quite  a  flutter  re- 
quested us  to  understand  that  we  were  at  Honolulu  to 
give  concerts  —  concerts  already  announced  by  him  and 
awaited  with  feverish  impatience  by  a  public  deprived  of 
amusements. 

What!  I  exclaim,  an  opera  house  in  the  Sandwich  Is- 
lands?—  but  why  not?  Honolulu  has  25,000  inhabi- 
tants —  a  little  mixed,  it  is  true,  in  races  and  colors, — 
but  lovers  of  music.  Honolulu  has  its  newspapers,  Eng- 
lish and  Hawaiian.  It  has  a  Queen,  a  Parliament,  a  con- 
stitution, and  ministers,  who  succeed  one  another  with 
astonishing  rapidity.  From  time  to  time  (about  the  equi- 
noxes), a  quasi-revolution  will  burst  out,  and  the  exiles  of 
the  night  before  are  recalled  to  power.  These  upheavals 
are  held  within  respectable  and  amiable  limits  by  the  Eng- 
lish or  American  squadron  at  anchor  in  the  port.  If  an 
American  citizen  is  Judge  or  Colonel  at  Hawaii,  each  one 
is,  has  been,  or  will  be,  minister;  and  a  case  is  cited  where 
the  minister  of  yesterday  said,  between  two  whiskey  cock- 
tails, to  the  minister  of  the  day:     "  Your  Excellency  is 


146  MY  MEMORIES 

an  idiot !  " —  a  mode  of  apostrophising  which  mingled 
politeness  with  familiarity. 

And  while  all  ambitions  run  their  course  unchecked, 
while  the  Queen  reigns,  Parliament  holds  sessions,  and 
the  ministers  change, —  one  man  commands.  This  is 
Spreckels,  the  Calif ornian  millionaire,  who  knew  how  to 
concentrate  in  his  own  hands  all  the  resources  of  the  coun- 
try, who  established  banks,  plantations,  manufactories, 
and  refineries;  who  was  subventioned  by  three  govern- 
ments, and  who  has  his  own  fleet  of  steamers  uniting  San 
Francisco  to  Sydney,  America  to  Australia.  Though  the 
envious  may  growl  in  low  voices,  "  Spreckels,  little  Ger- 
man Jew, —  came  here  without  a  cent  from  Hamburg!  " 
still  all  bow  to  him. —  His  Majesty,  Money,  passes! 
Hats  off! 

It  is  said  that  King  Kalakaoua,  the  predecessor  of  the 
present  Queen,  was  a  high  liver  and  a  profligate  spender; 
and  once,  having  escaped  the  watchful  eyes  of  Spreckels' 
agents,  succeeded  in  contracting  a  loan  of  several  mil- 
lions at  San  Francisco.  But  Spreckels  got  wind  of  it, 
hastened  to  the  Royal  palace,  and  shaking  his  finger  in  the 
King's  face,  said  menacingly :  "  You  were  going  to  bor- 
row money  without  my  consent  ?  which  you  would  spend 
in  dissipation  and  crazy  orgies?  Very  well!  do  so  at 
your  ease !  but  as  for  me, —  in  less  than  eight  days  I  will 
have  your  head  off!!  "  The  frightened  King  abandoned 
his  project. 

King  Kalakaoua  —  who  died  suddenly  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, after  a  trip  to  Europe  —  was  a  picturesque  mon- 
arch.    He  passed  his  life  agreeably,  dividing  his  time  at 


I.II.IIKAI.AXI 


WESTWARD  HO  147 

Waikiki  between  the  Royal  dancers  and  interminable 
parties  of  poker,  and  leaving  to  others  the  charge  and  care 
of  the  state.  To  all  his  favorites  of  the  moment  he  would 
distribute  titles  and  decorations;  making  one  a  Chevalier 
of  the  Order  of  Kamehameha,  and  another  Grand  Officer 
of  the  Order,  no  less  Royal,  of  Kalakaoua;  —  and  the 
next  day,  if  his  luck  had  not  been  favorable,  he  would  bor- 
row a  dollar  from  one  or  the  other.  Like  many  a  grand 
seigneur,  he  neglected  to  pay  his  debts,  and  at  his  death 
his  affairs  were  left  in  a  state  of  astonishing  confusion. 

The  resources  which  Hawaii  has  to  offer  are  somewhat 
limited ;  but  in  the  perpetual  springtime  which  reigns  in 
that  enchanting  climate,  one  is  happy  simply  to  feel  oneself 
alive,  and  the  time  passes  so  quickly  that  we  almost  for- 
get that  in  a  few  days  the  Mariposa  will  come  to  remind 
us  that  we  are  awaited  in  Australia. 

Though  we  were  among  the  bathers  at  break  of  day 
on  the  beach  at  Waikiki,  we  have  neglected  the  Pali, — 
that  frightful  precipice,  counted  among  the  marvels  of 
the  world.  It  was  from  this  awesome  height  that  Kame- 
hameha the  Terrible  precipitated  the  army  of  his  last 
rival,  the  Chief  of  Ooaou ;  after  which,  assuming  the 
dignity  supreme,  he  proclaimed  himself  the  master  of 
the  Hawaiian  realm. 

Among  numerous  invitations  from  everywhere,  came 
one  from  the  Queen ;  who,  passionately  fond  of  music, 
had  honored  every  one  of  our  concerts  by  her  presence  in 
the  Royal  box.  She  invited  us  to  the  Royal  palace,  where 
a  louaou  or  native  feast  was  to  be  given  in  honor  of  one 
of  the  princesses.     This  was  celebrated  in  primitive  fash- 


148  MY  MEMORIES 

ion ;  all  the  guests,  seated  on  the  ground,  helped  them- 
selves to  the  native  delicacies,  using  the  fingers,  as  the 
Queen  did. 

In  former  times  all  native  feasts  were  followed  by 
grand  dances  performed  by  all  the  most  beautiful  maidens 
of  the  country;  after  which  the  King,  in  a  good  humor 
induced  by  copious  cups  of  champagne,  would  dismiss  his 
retinue  and  turn  the  feast  into  an  orgy,  greatly  scandal- 
izing all  civilized  persons.  The  present  Queen  had  sup- 
pressed these  indecent  dances,  however ;  and  after  the  rare 
receptions  which  she  held  at  the  Palace,  she  returned  to 
her  bungalow,  to  Hve  the  life  of  the  Kanakas,  at  ease 
among  her  own  people. 

After  all  that  had  been  told  us  of  the  dance  Houla- 
Houla,  we  felt  we  could  not  leave  the  Islands  without  hav- 
ing seen  it;  and  after  a  consultation  it  was  decided  that, 
as  musicians,  we  had  a  right  to  study  at  first  hand  all  that 
pertained  to  the  primitive  art.  Therefore,  on  the  ap- 
pointed evening,  we  found  ourselves  in  a  native  bunga- 
low, in  the  presence  of  young  Hawaiians,  of  whom  half 
were  musicians  and  the  rest  dancers.  Without  pretense 
these  dark-eyed  young  girls,  very  amusing  and  natural, 
offered  us  cigarettes.  Then  one  little  girl  advanced,  cov- 
ered with  garlands  of  flowers,  the  petals  of  red  hibiscus 
and  fragrant  tuberose,  strung  by  thousands  into  floral 
ropes- and  wreaths.  With  infantile  grace  she  crowned 
our  heads  with  flowers  .and  covered  our  chests  with  gar- 
lands ;  meanwhile  the  dancers  and  musicians,  also  decor- 
ated, were  taking  their  places.  Accompanied  by  their  na- 
tive instrument,  the  ukelele,  they  sang,  or  rather  chanted, 
a  slow  cantilena,  plaintive  and  sweet.     The  dancers,  in 


WESTWARD  HO  149 

couples,  now  began  more  elaborate  steps,  advancing,  re- 
treating, full  of  grace  ;  —  the  danse  du  ventre,  if  you  will, 
but  admirable  in  its  complicated  movements.  During  all 
this  the  musicians  and  singers  accompanied  them  in  the 
same  rhythm,  accentuated  and  accelerated  more  and  more 
until  it  finished  in  an  apparent  frenzy  of  excitement,  and 
we  who  witnessed  this  strange  spectacle  were  wafted  in 
imagination  to  the  fetes  of  ancient  Rome  at  the  epoch  of 
its  decadence.  Numbers  of  natives  began  arriving  to  join 
the  feast,  and  as  they  commenced  to  imbibe  rather  too 
freely,  the  affair  was  in  danger  of  degenerating  into  an 
orgy;  and  recalling  moreover  that  there  were  doubtless 
some  of  the  natives  who  still  practiced  cannibalism,  we 
felt  it  high  time  to  leave. 

The  Hawaiian  race,  so  interesting  from  every  point  of 
view,  is  unhappily  destined  to  disappear  in  the  future  be- 
fore stronger  and  more  energetic  invaders, —  the  Portu- 
guese, the  Swedes,  the  Germans,  the  Chinese  and  Japa- 
nese. The  Chinese  are  everywhere ;  they  are  merchants, 
bankers,  workers  in  the  plantations,  as  well  as  cooks,  but- 
lers and  household  servants ;  always  pleasant  and  defer- 
ential and  quiet,  they  form  the  most  active  part  of  the 
population.  Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  elim- 
inate the  Chinese  from  Hawaii,  but  without  result,  for 
they  have  made  themselves  so  useful  that  the  Hawaiians 
themselves  protest  that  if  the  Chinese  were  expelled, 
"  there  would  be  no  one  to  make  our  poi  "  (a  species  of 
cold  porridge  made  from  the  taro  plant). 

The  native  population  of  the  Sandwich  Islands, — 
which,  fifty  years  or  so  ago,  numbered  perhaps  400,000, 
—  has  been  so  reduced  that  they  count  at  present  no  more 


I50  MY  MEMORIES 

than  40,000.  Their  happy-go-lucky  nature,  and  a  life 
without  need  of  exertion,  tended  towards  enervation,  and 
little  fitted  them  to  compete  for  existence  with  the  races 
which  invaded  their  land;  and  then  disease,  unknown  in 
the  Islands  before  the  advent  of  Europeans,  and  the 
leprosy  (which  is  said  to  have  been  brought  there  from 
China),  have  decimated  the  native  population.  Leprosy 
began  to  make  such  ravages  that  precautionary  measures 
were  taken,  and  a  system  of  complete  isolation  organized 
for  suspects,  until,  when  doubt  was  no  longer  possible, 
the  poor  afflicted  ones  were  transported  to  the  island  of 
Molokai  where,  separated  from  the  entire  world,  they 
had  to  wait  for  death  to  deliver  them  from  their  suffering. 
Certain  devoted  souls  sacrificed  themselves  to  assuage  the 
misery  of  the  lepers;  among  them.  Father  Damien,  the 
Belgian  priest,  who  was  himself  a  victim  of  his  noble 
abnegation. 

—  But  the  Mariposa,  with  steam  up,  is  only  awaiting 
the  mail ;  and  we  must  mount  the  plank  which  will  separate 
us  from  terra  firma.  All  of  our  friends  have  come  to 
bid  us  farewell,  and  in  the  delicate  Hawaiian  fashion 
they  cover  us  with  crowns  and  garlands  of  flowers.  Sud- 
denly the  music  of  the  Hawaiian  Royal  Band  bursts  forth 
with  the  Brabanqonne  in  our  honor;  and  as  the  Mariposa 
sails  slowly  away  amid  hurrahs  from  the  crowd,  we  hear 
the  sweet  tones  of  Hawaiian  voices  singing  "  Aloha  oe." 
As  on  our  arrival,  so  as  we  depart,  the  native  boys  swim 
and  dive  for  the  coppers  and  nickels  thrown  to  them  in 
the  water,  and  follow  the  vessel  with  swift  strokes  of  their 


WESTWARD  HO  151 

limbs,  until  we  pass  them ;  and  soon  nothing  remains  be- 
tween us  and  the  "  Paradise  of  the  Pacific  "  but  the  vast 
ocean. 

Second  Letter  to  La  Meuse 

Apia,  Samoa  Islands,  June  24,  1892, 
A  week  had  passed  since  we  left  Honolulu,  without  any 
incidents  to  interrupt  the  hopeless  monotony  of  existence 
on  board  the  Mariposa.  The  temperature  rose  rapidly, 
and  the  nights,  which  had  been  relatively  cool,  became  un- 
comfortably warm.  From  time  to  time  heavy  clouds 
formed  along  the  horizon  and  rapidly  covered  the  whole 
extent  of  the  heavens ;  and  storms,  bursting  forth,  re- 
freshed the  air  momentarily,  but  soon  left  a  moist  and 
enervating  warmth  which  rendered  the  apathetic  more 
limp  and  the  biliously  inclined  still  more  aggressive. 

"  Effect  of  the  tropical  climate,"  said  the  doctor,  trying 
to  demonstrate  according  to  his  special  and  personal 
theory,  that  there  existed  an  absolute  correlation  between 
the  state  of  our  livers,  the  difference  in  our  respective 
temperaments,  and  the  distance  which  separates  the  earth 
from  the  sun.  "An  astronomical  doctor!"  scoffed  the 
skeptic ;  but  the  doctor,  having  no  doubt  experienced  many 
like  attacks,  replied  invariably :  '*  Take  care  of  your 
livers,  gentlemen!  take  care  of  your  livers!  " 

—  However,  we  were  approaching  the  Isles  of  Samoa, 
and  Captain  Hay  ward  informed  us  that  we  should  be  in 
sight  of  them  early  the  next  morning;  "  and  if  time  per- 
mits you  will  be  at  liberty  to  pass  some  hours  on  land," 
he  said,     This  was  an  attractive  prospect,  because  Samoa 


152  MY  MEMORIES 

had  the  pretension  to  have  preserved  almost  intact  the 
hfe  and  customs  of  the  natives  as  they  flourished  when 
the  islands  were  first  discovered. 

The  archipelago  of  the  "  Navigators  "  is  a  considerable 
group  of  islands,  of  which  the  most  important  are  Sawaii, 
Tutuila,  and  Opoulo  (or  Opulo).  The  latter,  although 
not  so  large  as  some  of  the  other  islands,  has  a  denser 
population ;  and  the  seat  of  government  having  been  es- 
tablished at  Apia  (also  the  only  port  of  the  isle),  Opoulo 
has  acquired  a  certain  commercial  importance. 

The  approach  to  Apia  is  not  particularly  striking.  The 
isle  presents  itself  as  a  mountainous  mass,  rather  elevated, 
and  covered  with  somber  verdure;  on  the  lower  coasts, 
numerous  plantations  of  cocoanut  can  be  distinguished, 
and  the  thatched  huts  of  the  natives  are  scattered  on  all 
sides. 

The  long  swells  of  the  ocean  fling  themselves  against 
a  belt  of  dangerous  coral  reefs  encircling  the  island,  and 
the  masses  and  pinnacles  of  foam  present  a  sharp  contrast 
to  the  calm  water  that  lies  like  a  tranquil  lake  inside  the 
reefs.  These  coral  reefs  are  characteristic  of  all  the  is- 
lands of  the  South  Seas,  and  the  natives,  in  navigating 
from  one  point  of  the  island  to  another,  habitually  take 
the  inside  route  instead  of  the  more  dangerous  one  of 
the  high  seas.  The  port  of  Apia  is  sheltered  behind  its 
outlying  reefs.  A  narrow  opening  or  channel  between 
the  rocks  gives  access  to  the  bay  —  of  no  great  extent  — 
which  is  open  to  all  the  winds,  and  offers  relatively  little 
security  to  the  vessels  which  occasionally  visit  the  vicinity. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1889,  the  American  Squadron 
of  the  Pacific  (comprising  the  Trenton,  the  Vandalia,  and 


WESTWARD  HO  153 

the  Nipsic),  together  with  the  Adler,  the  Eber  and  the 
Olga  of  the  German  Imperial  Navy,  and  the  EngHsh  flag- 
ship CalHope,  quietly  anchored  in  the  bay,  were  struck  by 
a  cyclone  of  extraordinary  violence.  Of  the  seven  ves- 
sels (men-of-war),  only  the  Calliope  succeeded  after 
heroic  efforts  in  getting  out  into  the  open  sea.  The  other 
vessels  were  torn  from  their  anchorage  and  beaten  to 
pieces  on  the  reefs.  A  hundred  and  forty-six  American 
and  German  men-of-warsmen  lost  their  lives.  A  few, 
who  survived  the  terrific  force  of  the  breakers  dashing 
them  upon  the  reefs,  were  washed  towards  the  shore  and 
saved  by  the  natives,  who  made  some  gallant  rescues. — 

One  day  in  Nagasaki  harbor  we  met  an  American  naval 
ofificer  (then  on  the  Baltimore)  who  had  been  saved  from 
the  wreck.  It  was  he  who  told  me  of  this  frightful  ex- 
perience. At  the  time  of  our  visit  to  xA.pia  there  still  re- 
mained a  few  skeletons  of  the  wrecks  of  those  war  ves- 
sels. Since  that  fearful  storm,  which  burst  with  such 
sudden  fury,  all  steamers  which  call  at  Apia  keep  full 
steam  up,  ready  to  steam  out  of  the  bay  at  the  first  sign 
of  bad  weather. 

The  natives,  of  course,  are  wonderful  swimmers,  and 
marvelously  expert  in  killing  fish  with  their  spears.  We 
saw  a  young  man  stand  on  the  beach,  and  seeing  (with 
what  seemed  to  us  a  kind  of  clairvoyance)  a  fish  some- 
where out  in  the  water,  he  suddenly  threw  his  spear, — 
evidently  hitting  the  fish ;  for,  launching  himself  into  the 
water,  the  boy  swam  to  the  spot,  grabbed  the  fish  as  it 
rose  to  the  surface,  broke  off  its  head,  and  ate  it  raw! 

The  arrival  of  an  American  steamer,  occurring  regu- 
larly once  a  rnonth,  is  an  important  event  in  Apia.     Euro- 


1-54  MY  MEMORIES 

pean  traders  await  with  impatience  the  news  from  over 
the  seas ;  while  the  natives,  sure  of  a  harvest  of  dollars 
and  shillings  from  the  passengers,  load  their  canoes  with 
the  products  of  their  country  and  establish  around  the 
steamer  a  sort  of  floating  market,  highly  picturesque. 

We  decided  to  profit  by  the  few  hours'  stay  in  port  and 
make  a  rapid  visit  on  shore ;  and  the  price  to  go  and  re- 
turn having  been  fixed  in  advance,  three  Samoans  — 
solid  young  men,  nearly  naked,  their  skin  like  bronze,  and 
their  hair  colored  red  by  applications  of  lime  —  soon 
landed  us  on  the  beach  at  the  center  of  the  village.  This 
consisted  of  a  single  street  that  followed  the  contour  of  the 
beach.  Here  was  the  quarter  of  some  few  Europeans 
and  of  merchants,  who  sat  on  the  porches  of  their  low 
houses  and  nonchalantly  awaited  a  few  straggling  cus- 
tomers. But  first  of  all  we  were  greeted  by  little  chil- 
dren, perfectly  naked,  who  advanced  to  meet  us  with  arms 
outstretched,  clutching  in  their  little  fists  something  evi- 
dendy  very  precious,  which  they  tried  to  persuade  us  to 
accept.  Very  gentle  and  sweet  were  these  native  chil- 
dren. By  signs  we  gave  them  to  understand  that  we 
would  like  to  see  those  delicacies  they  were  holding  so 
tightly,  and  they  finally  spread  out  their  palms.  There 
was  a  mass  of  soft,  white,  squirming  maggots!  It 
seems  that  these  are  eaten  with  relish  by  the  natives,  and 
so  these  little  children,  in  their  gentle  way,  were  begging 
us  to  partake  of  the  delicate  morsels.  Needless  to  say, 
we  were  horrified ;  but,  assuring  them  that  we  could  not 
deprive  them  of  such  tidbits,  we  offered  them  some  dimes 
and  nickels,  with  which  they  seemed  well  pleased. 

The  Samoans  are  physically  splendid  creatures;  the 


WESTWARD  HO  155 

young  girls,  clothed  in  scant  attire  which  leaves  the  limbs 
and  part  of  the  torso  exposed,  are  superb  in  their  supple 
movements.  In  a  friendly  manner  they  took  us  by  the 
hand ;  they  seemed  to  wish  to  draw  us  aside  into  the  shade 
of  the  trees,  but  lack  of  time  prevented  this, —  much  to  the 
ennui  of  our  new  friends.  Later  on  they  accompanied 
us  when  we  returned  on  board,  and  as  evening  approached 
and  the  ship  silently  got  under  way,  the  natives  left  us  in 
their  canoes,  singing  their  primitive  airs  as  they  paddled 
toward  the  shore. 

The  Samoan  race  resembles  in  a  singular  manner  the 
Hawaiian;  the  Maoris  of  New  Zealand  also  resemble  in 
a  remarkable  way  the  peoples  of  the  Navigator  and  Sand- 
wich Islands;  and,  a  fact  worthy  of  note,  these  half-sav- 
age races,  separated  from  one  another  by  thousands  of 
miles  of  ocean,  speak  a  language  which  if  not  exactly 
common,  still  shows  analogous  dialects,  assuredly  of  the 
same  origin.  The  works  of  philologists  and  missionaries 
who  have  made  important  studies  on  the  subject,  leave  no 
doubt  as  to  the  unity  of  race  and  origin  of  the  Oceanic 
populations.  If  the  Kanakas  of  Fiji,  New  Caledonia,  the 
Marshall  Isles,  and  the  New  Hebrides  are  darker  and  have 
thicker  hair  than  the  Hawaiians,  Samoans,  Maoris,  and 
others,  it  is  because,  being  nearer  New  Guinea,  they 
have  been  mixed  with  the  Papuans ;  who  appertain  to  a 
race  totally  different  and  closely  allied  to  the  negro  race. 
The  tradition  of  the  Maoris,  transmitted  from  generation 
to  generation,  places  their  colonization  of  New  Zealand 
back  at  least  several  hundred  years.  The  names  of  the 
great  canots  (canoes)  in  which  they  came  to  their  new 
country,  are  yet  preserved  in  the  memory  of  their  chiefs, 


156  MY  MEMORIES 

and  their  relics  from  over  the  sea  are  preciously  conserved. 
They  say  their  ancestors  came  from  a  far  country  called 
Sawaii;  —  might  this  be  the  Sawi  of  the  Samoan  group? 
or  perhaps  Hawaii  of  the  Sandwich  Isles?  This  is  a 
problem  which  we  leave  to  those  more  erudite  than  our- 
selves; but  our  character  as  globe-trotters  at  least  permits 
us  to  cast  a  rapid  glance  over  the  countries  which  we  cross; 
the  seductive  mystery  of  which  attracts  us  with  a  subtle 
charm. 

At  about  the  time  of  our  visit  the  Samoan  Islands,  after 
having  been  the  subject  of  disputes  between  England, 
Germany,  and  the  United  States,  were  definitely  placed 
under  the  protection  of  the  three  powers.  In  1889  the 
King  of  Sweden,  acting  as  arbitrator,  named  at  the  re- 
quest of  Berlin,  a  Swedish  lawyer  as  Chief  Justice  and  a 
German  as  president  of  the  municipality  of  Apia.  In 
spite  of  the  arrangement,  two  parties  —  one  instigated 
and  abetted  by  the  Germans,  the  other  by  the  English  — 
formed  among  the  natives,  and  menaced  the  tranquillity 
of  the  Island.  The  two  factions  were  represented,  on  the 
one  side  by  Malieota,  the  actual  King,  and  the  Chief 
Matafa ;  and  on  the  other  by  Tamasese,  the  protege  of  the 
Germans ;  the  latter,  retiring  further  inland,  again  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  a  quasi-revolt. 

The  resources  of  the  Island  are  not  of  great  extent, 
and  the  European  traders  have  a  rather  precarious  ex- 
istence. Copra  forms  the  principal  basis  of  their  com- 
merce. This  product,  very  rich  in  the  oil  of  the  cocoa- 
nut,  is  shipped  to  Hamburg,  where  it  is  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  soap.  A  German  company  monopolizes 
to  a  large  extent  the  commerce  of  the  archipelago. 


WESTWARD  HO  157 

Adventurers  of  all  nationalities  and  all  races  are  en- 
countered in  Samoa ;  mixing  with  the  natives,  they  adopt 
their  habits.  Their  existence,  which  at  first  appears  not 
very  attractive,  seems  to  weave  a  charm  in  its  free- 
dom from  restraint  and  from  anxiety  as  to  the  future; 
they  are  satisfied  with  the  simple  life,  live  in  peace,  and 
rarely  leave  the  Islands.  Numerous  missionaries  of  all 
sects  have  established  themselves  in  the  archipelago,  where 
they  preach  their  doctrines  and  educate  the  natives,  who 
respect  them.  The  French  priests  have  several  establish- 
ments, and  a  Convent  has  been  built  at  Apia  where  the 
Sisters  devotedly  strive  to  give  a  useful  education  to 
their  numerous  pupils.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  the  Kanakas 
recognize  the  abnegation  of  the  missionaries;  but  it  must 
be  admitted  that  although  they  are  not  accustomed  to  labor 
of  any  kind,  they  obey  the  demands  of  the  missionaries 
when  there  is  a  church  to  build  or  plantations  to  cultivate. 
The  faculty  for  work  is,  as  may  be  supposed,  the  least  evi- 
dent of  the  qualities  of  the  Samoans.  They  know  that 
their  soil  gives  them  fruits  of  all  sorts,  without  effort  on 
their  part ;  they  have  no  variable  seasons  to  combat ;  each 
day  is  sufficient  unto  itself ;  and  so  wh}'  should  they  work? 
All  desires  are  satisfied,  and  that  is  enough. 

Having  given  our  readers  a  hint  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
population  of  Samoa,  they  will  readily  understand  that  it 
would  have  been  as  impossible  to  think  of  giving  a  con- 
cert at  Apia  as  to  give  a  matinee  at  Merylez-Tilff  on  the 
day  they  hold  their  fishing  contests. 


158  MY  MEMORIES 

Third  Letter  to  La  Meuse  —  Appeared 
July  29,  1892 

New  Zealand 

Auckland,  New  Zealand,  was  our  last  stopping  place 
before  arriving  at  Sydney.  There  we  should  find  letters 
and  instructions  relative  to  our  tour  in  Australia.  Profit- 
ing from  the  delicious  laziness  of  the  tropics,  one  was 
tempted  to  neglect  the  beaux  arts,  but  not  I.  In  spite  of 
the  heat,  I  clothed  myself  in  flannel  pajamas,  shutting 
myself  in  my  cabin,  and  ringing  for  the  steward  to  bring 
me  a  pitcher  of  hot  water  to  drink,  I  proceeded  to  put  my- 
self in  training  —  training  of  the  fingers  and  bow  arm  by 
some  hours  of  practice  every  morning.  This  sweating 
out  was  excellent  to  reduce  the  slight  increase  in  weight 
I  had  put  on  by  the  weeks  on  ship  and  land,  with  no  exer- 
cise whatever.  My  fingers  soon  became  more  supple 
than  ever  and  I  felt  in  fine  condition.  An  artist  who  re- 
spects himself  and  his  art  will  never  be  caught  napping, 
and  that  I  had  been  wise  to  subject  myself  to  this  training 
was  disclosed  when,  on  our  approaching  Auckland,  our 
ship  was  boarded  by  an  agent  of  our  impresario  who  in- 
formed us  that  we  were  to  appear  that  same  night  and 
that  a  tour  of  forty  concerts  had  been  arranged  for  in 
New  Zealand. 

"  But,"  said  I,  "  my  company  cannot  appear  without  a 
day  or  so  of  repose  after  such  a  voyage." 

"  But  you  are  announced  for  to-night,"  said  the  agent. 
"  The  hall  is  rented  and  the  seats  all  reserved.  You  can- 
not disappoint  the  public." 


WESTWARD  HO  159 

"  My  dear  sir,  the  program !  And  we  must  rehearse," 
I  exclaimed. 

"  My  dear  sir,  everything  is  ready ;  here  is  your  pro- 
gram ;  it  is  already  printed ;  the  last  one  which  you  gave  in 
San  Francisco  and  which  we  got  from  your  manager  by 
cable.  In  your  interest,  as  well  as  in  ours,  the  public 
must  be  satisfied,  and  as  your  reputation  has  preceded  you, 
this  evening  the  Choral  Society  of  Auckland  will  render 
you  homage;  this  Society  of  200  active  members  will 
assist  at  your  concert  and  take  part  in  the  program.  The 
Director  of  the  Society  will  meet  you  at  the  dock." 

So  we  had  to  resign  ourselves  to  this  arrangement,  but 
we  were  still  inclined  to  grumble,  for  we  were  engaged  for 
a  tour  of  Australia,  and  here  we  were  in  for  forty  con- 
certs in  New  Zealand,  a  country  which  we  imagined  to  be 
inhabited  principally  by  cannibals  whose  ideas  of  music 
must  be  very  primitive,  for  I  had  been  told  that  their 
flutes  were  generally  made  from  the  tibias  of  their  ene- 
mies. But,  warmly  defending  the  New  Zealanders,  the 
agent  exclaimed : 

"  It  is  true,  gentlemen,  that  we  have  only  been  in  exist- 
ence since  1840,  but  we  count  already  650,000  inhabitants 
(not  natives)  and  some  of  our  cities  have  from  30,000  to 
60,000  souls.  Last  year  we  exported  200,000,000  francs 
of  Colonial  products.  We  have  18,000,000  sheep,  1,000,- 
000  heads  of  cattle,  2,000  miles  of  railroads,  inexhaustible 
forests  and  mines  of  every  description.  You  are  here  in 
the  richest  and  most  prosperous  of  the  Australian  colonies 
and,  between  us,  I  will  tell  you  that  we  have  volcanoes 
and  lakes,  mountains  and  glaciers  enough  to  render  the 
rest  of  the  world  green  with  jealousy;  a  fauna  and  flora 


i6o  MY  MEMORIES 

that  fill  with  wonderment  the  most  indifferent.  As  to 
the  Maoris,  you  will  learn  to  know  them  later  on  and  to 
esteem  them.  If  we  are  the  youngest  people  in  the  world, 
we  are  also  the  most  advanced.  Here  the  State  is  almost 
altruistically  Socialist,  poverty  is  unknown  and  every  one 
is  happy." 

During  this  enlightening  discourse  our  ship  in  its  prog- 
ress altered  its  course  and  a  coast  of  singular  beauty  began 
to  reveal  itself.  Imagine  a  gulf  of  nearly  sixty  miles  in 
depth,  with  its  borders  deeply  indented,  strewn  with  beau- 
tiful islets,  some  of  which  being  conical  leave  no  doubt 
as  to  their  volcanic  origin. 

The  crater  of  Mount  Rangitoto  dominates  them  and, 
pushing  itself  up  from  the  depths  of  the  sea,  raises  its 
solitary  head  in  the  middle  of  the  bay.  In  the  back- 
ground, the  city  of  Auckland  detaches  itself  from  the  flank 
of  a  hill  and  farther  on  another  crater,  Mount  Eden,  cuts 
its  silhouette  on  the  blue  sky  of  the  horizon.  The  air, 
pure  and  transparent,  brings  out  the  beauties  of  this  won- 
derful panorama  and  we  lose  all  sense  of  time,  so  enrap- 
tured are  we  with  this  almost  grandiose  spectacle  of 
Nature. 

From  the  top  of  Mount  Eden  the  scene  assumes  new 
and  wonderfully  beautiful  aspects  of  which  one  never 
tires. 

New  Zealand  was  discovered  by  a  Dutchman,  Abel 
Janssen  Tasman,  in  1642,  was  visited  a  number  of  times 
by  Captain  Cook  and  several  commanders  of  the  French 
Navy  and  by  the  navigator  Vancouver,  but  finally,  in 
1840,  the  whole  of  New  Zealand  came  under  the  sover- 
eignty of  England.     New  Zealand,  as  much   from  the 


WESTWARD  HO  i6i 

geographical  point  of  view  as  that  of  the  poHtical,  forms 
a  country  entirely  different  from  Australia.  New  Zea- 
land is  very  properly  called  "  the  marvelous  land  of  the 
south."  The  climate  is  generally  temperate,  but  the 
northern  part  enjoys  a  semi-tropical  climate  and  every^ 
thing  grows  there  in  profusion  which  it  is  possible  to 
raise  in  a  temperate  and  semi-tropical  zone.  Animal  and 
vegetable  life  is  entirely  different  from  that  of  Australia. 
Mammals  only  are  represented,  indigenously,  by  the  rat 
and  tuatera.  Of  the  birds,  one  species,  the  weka,  has 
no  wings ;  another,  the  kiwi,  is  not  only  deprived  of  wings, 
but  instead  of  feathers  has  fur.  Reptiles,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  two  sorts  of  lizards,  are  unknown.  One  of 
them  is  the  strangest,  most  fantastic  creature  one  can 
imagine.  It  lives  seemingly  without  means  of  existence, 
clinging  to  a  barren  rock,  eternally  in  the  same  place, 
equally  satisfied  with  the  ardent  rays  of  the  sun  which 
beat  upon  it  or  the  cold  winds  from  the  south,  and  fur- 
nishes an  example  of  negative  existence  in  comparison 
with  which  the  passivity  of  the  Fakirs  of  India  is  nothing 
at  all.  These  tuateras  have  been  kept  for  years,  deprived 
of  nourishment  of  any  kind,  no  water  and  even  without 
air,  with  no  apparent  discomfort.  Although  it  may  pos- 
sess means  of  attack  or  defense,  it  evidently  lacks  the 
energy  to  use  them,  and  it  is  quite  inoffensive,  but  the 
Maoris  have  a  horror  of  them  and  carefully  avoid  them. 
No  doubt  the  tuatera  is  a  relic  of  antediluvian  times. 
There  is  a  curious  species  of  fish  which  no  fisherman  has 
ever  caught  in  the  sea  which  is  found  of  a  morning 
stranded  on  the  beach  without  power  to  return  to  its  ele- 
ment.    It  is  called  the  Frost  fish.     The  question  which  no 


i62  MY  MEMORIES 

one  has  been  able  to  answer  is :  how  does  it  come  to  be 
strewn  on  the  beach? 

Fourth  Letter,     Wellington 

August  15th,  1892 
Auckland,  from  its  situation  and  natural  advantages, 
is  the  rendezvous  for  numerous  tourists,  and  at  that  time 
had  some  60,000  inhabitants,  attracted  by  the  beauties  and 
wonders  of  New  Zealand,  and  the  government  had  made 
praiseworthy  efforts  to  open  up  the  regions  where  vol- 
canic action  had  created  such  marvels  as  hot  springs,  won- 
derful lakes,  active  volcanoes,  geysers,  terraces,  fuma- 
roles,  waterfalls,  etc.,  etc.,  too  numerous  to  mention  or 
describe  in  full  and  the  pleasure  of  visiting  which  we 
availed  ourselves  as  time  between  concerts  permitted. 

We  left  Auckland  by  a  small  boat  in  the  midst  of  a 
storm  and  passed  a  bad  night  in  arriving  at  New  Plymouth 
where  we  landed  the  next  morning,  giving  a  concert  the 
same  night. 

We  visited  all  the  principal  cities,  Wellington,  Christ- 
church,  Dunedin,  Hawra,  Wanganui,  P^lmerston,  Mas- 
terston,  and  Napier.  At  Napier  we  arrived  in  a  terrible 
storm.  Torrents  of  rain  rendered  the  streets  almost  im- 
passable. It  cleared  up  a  little  at  the  hour  of  the  concert, 
so  that  the  hall  was  filled  as  by  magic,  but  during  the  even- 
ing the  tempest  began  again  and  the  ocean  broke  over 
the  promenade  and  flooded  the  city.  But  this  did  not 
seem  to  worry  the  audience,  which  applauded  each  number 
of  the  program  with  gusto,  without  bothering  themselves 
as  to  how  they  were  to  get  home.  The  ladies  were  in 
evening  dress  too ! 


WESTWARD  HO  163 

After  the  concert  was  over,  we  had  to  stay  in  the  hall. 
We  thought  of  telephoning  the  captain  of  the  port  to  send 
assistance  with  a  boat  to  take  us  to  our  domiciles,  but  the 
audience  decided  to  make  a  night  of  it  and  organized  a 
ball  which  kept  up  until  the  small  hours,  when  the  water 
had  retired  from  the  inundated  streets.  Everywhere  we 
found  the  audiences  as  cultured  in  their  taste  for  music 
as  any  you  would  find  in  New  York  or  the  capitals  of 
Europe. 

A  word  about  the  Maoris  demands  place  in  my  brief 
sketch  of  our  visit  to  New  Zealand.  Their  tribe  arrived 
in  New  Zealand,  according  to  traditions,  about  400  years 
ago.  They  came  in  fifteen  immense  canoes  of  war  which 
held  four  or  five  hundred  people.  These  boats  were  con- 
structed with  the  greatest  art,  and  would  hold  as  many 
as  a  hundred  warriors  each,  and  they  were  capable  of 
outriding  the  worst  storms.  Their  temples,  store-houses 
and  council-chambers  were  constructed  with  science  and 
art  and  their  sculptures  indicate  a  high  degree  of  artistic 
sentiment,  but  it  is  difficult  to  know  how  they  carved 
the  hardest  kind  of  wood  with  tools  made  only  of  silex. 

As  we  have  said,  there  was  little  or  no  animal  life  in  the 
country,  and  this  may  account  for  their  cannibalism,  al- 
though their  belief  that  by  eating  a  chief  they  would  ab- 
sorb his  characteristics  may  have  been  the  fundamental 
reason  for  this  custom.  By  contact  with  civilization,  the 
custom  has  almost  disappeared,  but  I  met  an  aged  Maori 
chief  whose  physiognomy  resembled  the  type  of  aborigi- 
nes of  Japan  (a  race  different  from  the  Japanese  as  we 
know  them  to-day)  and,  as  he  was  able  to  talk  a  little 
English,  I  asked  him  if  he  had  ever  eaten  the  flesh  of  an 


i64  MY  MEMORIES 

Englishman.  He  said  that  he  had,  but  that  he  did  not 
like  the  meat  of  white  people,  as  it  was  too  salty !  I  then 
asked  him  which  part  was  considered  the  ifinest  eating  and 
he  said  the  palm  of  the  hand  was  the  most  delicate  and 
tasty. 

Tattooing  reached  a  high  degree  of  development  among 
the  Maoris  —  possibly  the  highest  of  any  savage  tribe. 
They  covered  their  faces  from  the  forehead  to  the  throat 
with  curves  and  spirals,  as  correctly  designed  as  if  traced 
with  the  end  of  a  compass,  and  a  frightful  mask  was 
the  result.  It  is  supposed  that  it  was  intended  to  thus 
frighten  their  enemies,  and  it  was  only  the  men,  the  chiefs, 
who  were  so  elaborately  tattooed  from  head  to  foot.  The 
women  were  tattooed  very  simply,  with  a  certain 
ornamental  figure  on  the  chin  and  lips.  The  Maoris  were 
great  warriors  and  before  they  were  conquered  by  the 
British,  they  showed  their  knowledge  of  tactics  and  en- 
gineering to  be  remarkable.  But  contact  with  civilization 
is  tending  to  the  disintegration  of  this  valiant  race,  and  it 
seems  to  me  a  pity  that  a  deeper  study  of  their  language 
and  origin  has  not  been  made.  The  art  of  disfiguring 
their  faces  and  bodies  by  tattooing  seems  to  relate  them 
to  a  certain  extent  with  the  North  American  Indians  who 
painted  themselves  on  going  to  war  in  much  the  same. 
way,  or  with  the  same  frightful  effect  as  the  tattooing. 

Fifth  Letter  to  La  Meuse  —  Wellington 

August  30th,  1892 
Our  journey  from  Napier  to  Wellington  was  one  of 
the  most  enjoyable  which  one  could  imagine.     We  passed 
through  a  region  covered  with  forests  and  undergrowth 


WESTWARD  HO  165 

of  vines  which  produce  the  effect  of  an  exuberance  of 
vegetable  vigor. 

WelHngton  is  called  "  the  windy  city  of  New  Zea- 
land." Chicago  is  nothing  compared  with  it.  The  peo- 
ple of  Wellington  are  recognized  by  their  peculiar  walk 
which  comes  from  buffeting  its  winds  three  hundred  and 
sixty-five  days  of  the  year.  After  losing  a  few  hats  one 
becomes  accustomed  to  it,  however,  and  may  even  find 
amusement  in  watching  new  arrivals  and  their  misad- 
ventures. 

The  day  after  our  arrival  we  were  informed  by  an 
aide-de-camp  that  the  governor-general  of  the  colony, 
Lord  Glasgow,  would  honor  our  concert  by  his  presence, 
whereupon,  the  event  being  announced  in  the  papers,  we 
at  once  became  a  fashionable  attraction,  and  the  elite  of 
the  city  rushed  to  reserve  boxes  and  seats. 

While  in  Wellington,  we  were  told  that  an  aged  Maori 
had  just  died  and  that  we  should  by  all  means  witness 
the  funeral  ceremonies.  The  family  of  the  deceased,  ac- 
cording to  custom,  invited  all  the  relatives  and  large  num- 
bers of  natives  to  be  present.  On  our  arrival  at  the  Pah 
(village)  doleful  groanings  and  lamentations  greeted  our 
ears;  women  and  children  wailing  in  a  manner  to  rend 
one's  soul,  and  as  we  came  into  the  presence  of  the  feast- 
ers  the  ferocious  noise  increased,  while  men  and  women 
greeted  one  another  by  rubbing  their  noses  together  in  a 
manifestation  of  the  profoundest  grief.  This  is  called 
the  ceremony  of  Hongi.  The  invited  guests  were  treated 
royally  to  a  collation  of  meat  and  beer.  As  the  feast 
went  on  the  lamentations  increased  and  culminated  in  a 
dance   of  horrible   bestiality.     What  an   association   of 


i66  MY  MEMORIES 

ideas!  To  connect  funeral  rites  with  a  bestial  orgy —  ! 
Finally  the  corpse  was  placed  in  the  earth  and  presents  and 
gifts  of  every  kind  were  heaped  on  the  casket.  When  the 
tomb  was  closed  all  the  tools  which  had  been  used  in  the 
interment  were  broken  and  left  on  the  spot,  and  every- 
thing left  by  the  family  and  friends  became  sacred,  it 
being  a  crime  to  touch  any  of  the  objects. 

We  got  back  to  Wellington  across  the  mountains  by 
what  might  be  called  goats'  paths,  and  a  dozen  times  or 
more  we  were  in  danger  of  breaking  our  necks;  but  being 
in  search  of  things  strange  and  picturesque  we  were  re- 
paid for  our  pains. 

We  remained  in  Wellington  over  a  week  and  gave  a 
concert  every  day.  We  left  on  a  Saturday  at  midnight, 
after  giving  a  concert  and  a  matinee.  Rain  came  on  and 
fell  in  torrents,  but  our  friends,  nothing  daunted,  came  on 
board  to  say  good-by.  The  Brenner,  a  little  steamer  of 
600  tons,  could  hardly  hold  the  crowd.  The  wind  began 
to  blow  and,  joined  to  the  rain,  gave  us  an  inkling  as  to 
what  the  weather  might  be  outside  the  harbor. 

"  You  ought  not  to  go.  Stay  over  until  better 
weather,"  they  said. 

Another  exclaimed :  — "  Better  weather !  Did  you 
ever  know  any  one  who  ever  crossed  Cook's  Strait  in 
good  weather?  " 

"  But  at  any  rate,  wait  for  the  big  boat,"  said  another; 
but  we  could  not  hesitate ;  for  on  Monday  we  had  to  play 
in  Christchurch  and  there  was  no  time  to  lose. 

While  in  the  shelter  of  the  bay  at  Wellington,  it  was 
not  so  bad,  but  once  outside  the  dance  began.  One  of 
those  dances  which  are  not  accompanied  by  a  violin.     The 


WESTWARD  HO  167 

violinist  danced  with  the  boat.  We  were  ordered  below 
and  after  counting  noses  we  were  battened  down  for  the 
night !  What  a  night !  Knocked  about  in  every  direc- 
tion without  an  instant  of  repose!  My  dear  wife,  who 
was  fearfully  ill,  was  strapped  into  her  berth,  but  no  bed 
for  me  in  such  a  storm;  the  water  washing  in  through 
leaky  portholes  and  doors.  Some  of  us  were  livid,  some 
very,  very  sick,  uttering  fearful  groans.  My  ideas  being 
somewhat  confused  by  the  topsy  turvy  state  of  things,  I 
recall  that  I  thought  how  much  wiser  it  would  have  been 
had  I  never  undertaken  this  tour,  and  how  much  better 
I  would  feel  were  I  now  at  the  Casino  Royal  at  Tilff, 
smoking  a  good  cigar  and  enjoying  a  game  of  piquet  with 

my  dear  friend.  Doctor  B ,  than  to  run  around  the 

world  hunting  for  the  impossible  in  out-of-the-way  places  ; 
placed,  it  is  true,  on  the  map  by  so  many  degrees  of  longi- 
tude and  latitude,  but  countries  not  exactly  suitable  for 
Christian  folk  and  honest  people !  Certainly  the  mal-de- 
mer  was  getting  the  better  of  my  usually  sanguine  and 
hopeful  and  philosophical  disposition ;  and  the  ship, 
shaken  by  the  tempest,  received  every  few  moments  ter- 
rific blows  from  the  battling  waves. 

"  Steward,"  I  shouted,  "  is  this  going  to  keep  up  much 
longer?  " 

No  answer  —  too  busy  elsewhere. 

"  Steward,"  I  shouted  again,  "  bring  me  a  whiskey  and 
soda!" 

This  demand,  being  more  logical  than  the  first,  attracted 
his  attention,  and  the  steward  executed  my  order ;  but  the 
brandy  and  soda  had  a  very  strange  taste  I  It  was  surely 
much  too  gaseous.     I  felt  the  gas  go  to  my  head,  and  my 


i68  MY  MEMORIES 

eyes  involuntarily  closed,  although  the  motion  of  the  ship 
and  the  shock  of  the  waves  were  brutally  present  to  my 
semi-consciousness,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  this  satanic 
ship  sank  —  sank  lower  and  lower,  and  then,  floating 
between  two  waves,  took  the  form  of  an  enormous  fish, 
and,  laughing  at  the  tempest,  brought  us  quietly  into 
port. — 

I  was  aroused  from  my  torpor  by  a  poke  in  the  ribs. — 

"Good  morning.  Professor!     How  are  you?" 

It  was  our  Captain,  old  wolf  of  the  sea,  who  invaded 

our  salon.     Opening  my  eyes,  I  was  astonished  to  find 

the  sun  shining  brightly  and  the  sea  in  a  more  reasonable 

mood. 

"  We  had  very  bad  weather,  Captain?  " 
"  Bad  weather !  I  thought  for  a  time  that  I  would 
never  bring  the  ship  out  alive  from  this  infernal  strait," — 
and  the  Captain  explained  at  length  how  the  wind  blow- 
ing a  tempest  in  that  narrow  water  had  put  our  lives  in 
danger.  But  we  were  now  sheltered  by  the  coasts  of  the 
Middle  Island  and  all  danger  past,  although  we  were  ten 
hours  overdue,  and  had  to  catch  the  train  at  Port  Little- 
ton for  Christchurch. 

Sixth  Letter  to  La  Meuse 

Omaru,  Sept.  14th,  1892 
We  arrived  at  Christchurch  at  10  o'clock  at  night, 
broken  up  by  fatigue,  and  at  the  moment  we  were  going 
to  our  rooms  an  individual  presented  himself  who  said 
he  had  been  sent  by  one  of  the  newspapers  to  interview 
me.  Without  giving  me  a  chance  to  get  in  a  word,  he 
announced  that  he  was  a  musician  in  a  way ;  that  he  had 


WESTWARD  HO  169 

never  before  interviewed  any  one,  and  knew  nothing^about 
reporting  anyway,  but  he  had  a  sacred  duty  to  perform ; 
that  he  would  have  preferred  not  to  encounter  me;  but 
he  was  obliged  to  enlighten  his  paper  as  to  my  personality 
so  that  its  readers  might  gain  an  insight  and  impressions 
in  regard  to  myself.  He  continued  to  talk  of  himself,  of 
his  pupils,  his  works,  his  piano,  etc.,  etc.,  thereupon  he 
left  me  as  abruptly  as  he  had  appeared  on  the  scene. 

During  my  artistic  career,  I  have  encountered  any 
number  and  all  sorts  of  reporters;  among  them  a  few 
who  were  musically  and  violinistically  qualified  for  the 
office,  others  who  knew  nothing  of  music,  but  specialized 
in  base-ball  and  so  on;  but  of  all  the  curious  types,  this 
one  was  the  most  eccentric ;  for  on  opening  the  paper  the 
next  morning,  there  was  the  interview  just  as  it  occurred; 
the  monologue  of  my  reporter  of  the  evening  before. 
My  pianist,  Scharf,  to  whom  I  had  told  the  incident, 
said :  — 

"  Oh  !  —  the  interviewer  who  visited  you  last  evening ! 
But  he  is  a  '  Schwab  '  and  every  one  from  his  country 
is  more  or  less  toque  (light-headed)." 

Christchurch  we  found  to  be  one  of  the  best  places  in 
New  Zealand  for  concerts.  We  gave  several,  all  to 
packed  houses,  and  on  Sunday  we  assisted  in  giving  a 
Mass  by  Gounod  at  the  cathedral.  Alfred  Hill  of  Well- 
ington (an  excellent  musician  and  composer  of  genuine 
talent)  conducted  the  Mass.  The  Bishop  and  clergy 
gave  a  feast  after  the  service  to  which  my  wife  and  my- 
self were  invited  and  which  netted  a  generous  sum  for 
the  church.  We  carried  away  with  us  delightful  irn^ 
pressions  of  the  place  and  the  people, 


170  MY  MEMORIES 

While  there  I  received  the  visit  of  a  prominent  violin- 
ist of  London,  who  had  made  the  trip  out  in  a  sailing 
vessel,  with  his  wife.  The  journey  took  three  months, 
and  as  it  was  undertaken  on  account  of  his  health,  he  said 
that  he  had  been  greatly  benefited  by  it. 

Christchurch  is  a  beautiful  city  and  possesses  one  of 
the  richest  museums  of  the  history  of  the  colony.  There 
is  a  collection  of  skeletons  of  the  Moa,  or  dinornis,  a  giant 
among  birds.  This  colossal  bird  grew  to  be  12  or  15 
feet  in  height,  and  was  without  wings.  They  must  have 
resembled  the  ostrich,  and  although  they  became  extinct 
at  an  epoch  not  so  long  ago,  the  traditions  of  the  Maoris 
do  not  mention  this  formidable  bird.  Certain  birds  of 
European  origin,  under  the  influence  of  the  climate,  have 
modified  their  appetites  and  from  insectivorous  they  have 
become  graniferous.  Then  there  is  the  Kea,  or  species 
of  paroquet,  indigenous,  which  has  discarded  grains  and 
berries  for  flesh  food.  They  attack  sheep,  Hght  on  their 
backs  and  tearing  out  the  wool,  the  skin  and  flesh  by 
their  beaks,  they  penetrate  to  the  kidneys  and  devour 
them  with  avidity.  The  streams  are  full  of  trout  which 
grow  to  an  immense  size  and  weigh  as  much  as  twenty 
pounds.  They  abandon  the  fresh  water  very  often  for 
the  sea  where  they  are  frequently  caught  by  fishermen. 

The  soil  and  atmosphere  give  marvelous  fertility  to 
the  vegetable  world,  to  the  extent  that  certain  plants 
which  had  been  imported  to  ornament  the  gardens  have 
become  a  positive  pest.  The  eglantine,  for  instance, 
grows  in  such  masses  that  they  become  impenetrable  bar- 
riers. The  modest  water-cress  of  our  fountains,  which 
has  not  elsewhere  taken  a  prominent  place  in  the  vegetable 


WESTWARD  HO  171 

kingdom,  here  in  New  Zealand  spreads  itself  with  such 
vigor  that  it  barricades  the  rivers,  turns  them  from  their 
courses  and  causes  inundations,  occasionally  very  danger- 
ous. The  legislature  at  one  time  proposed  to  introduce 
salmon  into  the  streams,  but  on  reflecting  as  to  the  pos- 
sibilities, and  perhaps  fearing  that  the  salmon  might  be 
turned  into  a  formidable  species  of  sharks,  they  aban- 
doned the  project. 

It  is  from  Christchurch  that  tourists  start  to  visit  the 
Alps  of  New  Zealand.  The  glacier  called  Tasman,  over 
15  miles  long  by  one  and  a  half  wide,  is  the  largest  in  the 
w^orld,  after  those  of  the  Himalayas  and  Alaska.  We 
could  not  spare  the  time,  unfortunately,  to  visit  this,  the 
most  wonderful  part  of  New  Zealand,  nor  the  fiords  of 
the  west  coast  which  rival  those  of  Norway.  Thirteen 
of  these  ideal  fiords  are  distributed  over  a  space  less  than 
a  hundred  miles  in  extent.  From  all  the  accounts  given 
us  we  were  strangely  tempted  to  make  this  trip;  but,  the 
concerts !  the  manager !  —  we  reluctantly  dismissed  the 
temptation,  and  kept  to  our  duty  and  obligations, —  but 
in  recalling  to  my  mind  the  tremendous  fertility  of  this 
country  which  could  cause  such  wonderful  increase  and 
transformations  in  vegetable  life,  in  fishes  and  birds,  the 
question  arose  as  to  how  the  savants  would  account  for 
the  fact  that  it  went  no  further?  That  sheep,  horses, 
cattle  and  human  beings  were  not  similarly  affected? 
Might  one  not  suppose  that  under  the  tremendous  flux 
of  the  life  fluid  men  and  animals  would  also  become  giants 
of  their  species  in  a  few  years?  While  from  the  physio- 
logical characteristics  of  the  people  they  have  not  been 
changed  as  far  as  I  know,  an  enlightening  influence  seems 


ii72  MY  MEMORIES 

to  have  been  pefftieating  their  mentahty  from  the  po- 
litical point  of  view,  for  the  government  seems  to  be 
quite  ideal.  While  New  Zealand  is  a  dependency  of 
England,  it  enjoys  the  privilege  of  self-government,  and 
it  is  governed  in  the  most  liberal  sense  of  the  word,  by 
its  own  Parliament,  elected  by  universal  suffrage,  a  re- 
sponsible ministry,  and  a  governor  named  by  the  govern- 
ment of  England,  whose  role  is  more  ornamental  than 
political.  Every  citizen  who  possesses  property  to  the 
value  of  $125.00  (25  pounds)  or  any  one  who  has  so- 
journed twelve  months  in  the  colony,  has  the  right  to 
vote;  and  women,  who  already  have  the  right  to  vote  on 
questions  relative  to  the  public  schools,  will  soon  have 
(if  not  already  accorded)  political  rights  equal  to  those 
of  the  men.  The  Parliaments  of  New  Zealand  have  been 
called  socialistic,  if  by  socialism  is  meant  the  mixing  of 
the  government  in  certain  spheres  which  elsewhere  are 
left  more  or  less  to  private  initiative.  The  railroads, 
post,  telegraph  and  telephone  are  the  property  of  the 
state,  and  besides  these,  the  Society  of  National  Insurance 
which  covers  solely  colonial  risks,  makes  of  the  state  the 
great  insurer  of  the  colony.  The  law  consecrates  the 
Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest,  and  better  still,  work  is  limited 
to  eight  hours  per  day. 

As  to  taxes.  New  Zealand  draws  the  largest  portion  of 
its  resources  from  customs  duties  on  importations  of 
merchandise,  and  from  taxes  on  liquors  and  tobacco  and 
on  all  personal  property.  All  properties  are  valued  every 
three  years,  and  such  as  are  of  less  than  500  pounds 
($2500.00)  are  exempted  from  taxation.  On  all  owners 
of  colonial  property  who  reside  outside  the  country,  a 


WESTWARD  HO  173 

double  tax  is  imposed.  Under  such  radical  measures 
some  farms  of  10,000  acres  have  been  divided  into  par- 
cels suitable  to  the  efforts  of  a  single  family,  which  have 
augmented  the  wealth  of  the  colony. 

Leaving  Christchurch  we  traveled  to  the  south,  stop- 
ping at  Ashburton,  Timaru  and  Omaru,  where  our  con- 
certs aroused  great  enthusiasm  among  the  tranquil  in- 
habitants, severed  as  they  needs  must  be  from  European 
musical  attractions. 

"  You  will  have  packed  houses  everywhere,"  said  a 
former  impresario  of  Christchurch,  and  such  was  the 
case ;  and  long  before  the  hour  vehicles  of  all  sort  formed 
such  a  barricade  around  the  theater  that  circulation  was 
almost  impossible.  I  asked  a  gentleman  as  to  the  cause, 
of  this  remarkable  affluence  of  the  crowd,  who  quietly 
replied : 

"  To  the  moon,  sir." 

This  was  mystifying  and  I  related  his  remark  to  the 
director  of  the  theater,  who  explained  that  the  streets  be- 
ing in  a  rudimentary  state,  often  obliging  one  to  cut  across 
the  fields  on  a  dark  night,  it  is  difficult  to  find  one's  way, 
and  so,  profiting  from  the  full  moon  the  young  folks, 
having  the  excuse  of  going  to  the  theater,  find  a  chance 
en  route  to  meet  and  chat  together  and  possibly  do  some 
courting  on  the  way. 

"  Under  cover  of  the  music  you  may  perhaps  have  re- 
united separated  hearts,  brought  loving  ones  near  each 
other  and  inspired  vows  of  love.  Years  from  now  when 
age  creeps  upon  these  young  people,  and  they  are  blessed 
with  sons  and  daughters,  they  may  sometimes  recall  this 
occasion  and  say :  — '  Do  you  remember  that  time  ?  it  was 


174  MY  MEMORIES 

when  we  went  to  hear  Musin.'  It  is  thus  that  an  artist's 
renown  is  established  and  celebrated  names  are  passed  on 
to  posterity." 

Alas !  what  a  disillusion ;  to  us !  who  thought  ourselves 
to  be  the  promoters  of  all  that  enthusiasm,  when  in  fact 
we  were  merely  the  pretext.  The  remark  of  the  pro- 
phetic impresario  of  Christchurch  came  back  to  me :  — 

"  You  will  play  to  packed  houses,  sir  "  ;  but,  joined  to  it, 
was  the  response, 

"  Packed  houses  which  we  owed  to  the  moon,  sir,  to 
the  moon." 

Seventh  Letter  —  New  Zealand 

Dunedin,  Sept.  28th,  1892. 

After  Dunedin  and  several  other  cities  of  lesser  im- 
portance we  left  New  Zealand  for  Australia,  completely 
charmed  by  the  country,  so  picturesque,  and  where  we 
had  encountered  a  public  which  had  given  us  everywhere 
a  most  flattering  reception,  not  to  mention  the  many  de- 
voted friends  we  had  made. 

Dunedin  is  of  all  the  cities  of  the  colony,  the  richest 
and  the  best  constructed.  Its  inhabitants  are  largely  of 
Scottish  descent,  and  in  their  enterprises  have  conserved 
the  traditional  characteristics  of  order  and  economy. 
Dunedin,  situated  twelve  miles  inland,  has  not  the  natural 
maritime  advantages  of  Wellington  or  Auckland,  but  its 
inhabitants  have  forced  nature  to  satisfy  their  needs  by  a 
channel  which  connects  the  city  with  the  sea.  This  has 
been  deepened  so  that  ships  of  the  largest  tonnage  come 
to  anchor  in  the  center  of  the  city. 

During  our  sojourn  in  Dunedin,  a  change  took  place 


WESTWARD  HO  175 

in  the  shipping  arrangements  between  Dunedin  and  Mel- 
bourne which  disarranged  our  route  and  shortened  our 
stay  in  New  Zealand.  The  steamer  on  which  we  should 
have  sailed  for  Australia  was  withdrawn  from  service, 
and  to  wait  for  another  vessel  would  have  made  us  miss 
our  first  bookings  in  Australia,  so  in  order  to  be  on  time 
we  had  to  retrace  our  steps,  pass  once  more  through 
Christchurch,  recross  Cook's  Straits,  and  arriving  again 
at  Wellington,  we  would  there  catch  a  ship  for  Sydney, 
and  if  all  things,  including  the  weather,  should  be  favor- 
able, we  would  reach  Melbourne  on  a  Saturday,  after  a 
journey  of  2,300  miles  in  eight  days,  just  in  time  to 
step  onto  the  stage  and  open  the  tour  at  the  hour  an- 
nounced. This  would  be  a  "tour  de  force,"  assuredly; 
but,  there  being  no  alternative,  we  were  obliged  to  risk 
it  and  we  decided  to  take  the  train  the  next  morning, 
July  22nd. 

At  the  concert  that  evening  our  decision  was  communi- 
cated to  our  friends,  and,  shaking  hands,  they  bade  us 
farewell,  and  we  returned  quietly  to  our  hotel  to  pack 
our  trunks  for  the  journey.  But  this  last  night  in 
Dunedin  had  a  surprise  in  store  for  us.  About  mid- 
night the  hotel  was  invaded  by  a  joyous  crowd  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Liedertafel  Society  who  had  come  to  sere- 
nade us.  One  hundred  and  fifty  fellows  with  stentorian 
voices  made  such  a  racket  that  the  sleeping  guests  were 
aroused  in  a  state  of  consternation.  We,  of  course,  re- 
sponded to  this  polite  attention  by  inviting  the  gentlemen 
to  partake  of  the  wine  of  friendship.  Summoning  the 
proprietor  of  the  hotel  to  open  up  his  wine  cellars,  he  re- 
fused most  decidedly  to  violate  the  municipal   regula- 


176  MY  MEMORIES 

tions,  saying  that  the  law  forbade  keeping  open  after  mid- 
night, and  by  that  hour  all  honest  people  should  be  in  bed, 
or  at  least  in  their  homes,  and  simply  to  please  us  he 
could  not  think  of  incurring  the  risk  of  a  penalty;  but 
severe  as  human  laws  may  be,  there  are  moral  obliga- 
tions observed  in  all  English  countries;  and  hoping  to 
touch  his  heart  we  pleaded :  — 

"  Dear  proprietor,  is  there  no  way  by  which  we  can 
compromise  this  matter?" 

"  I  see  only  one,"  replied  our  noble  host,  "  which  is  to 
sell  you  my  establishment  outright,  and  leave  it  to  you  to 
get  yourselves  out  of  a  scrap  with  the  minions  of  the  law 
if  this  affair  gets  noised  about." 

It  was,  therefore,  decreed  that  New  Zealand,  which 
had  witnessed  my  debut  as  a  violinist,  would  also  see  me 
established  as  the  proprietor  of  a  bar.  Placing  myself 
behind  the  counter  and  seizing  the  keys  to  the  sanctuary 
I  set  about  distributing  whatever  was  preferred  by  our 
thirsty  guests.  This  was  a  memorable  night,  and  the 
rising  sun  saw  the  most  valiant  of  them  still  on  their  legs. 
The  proprietor  stepped  in,  and  handing  me  the  bill,  re- 
marked with  a  mischievous  look,  "  Please  observe,  sir, 
that  I  have  not  counted  the  cash  box." 

In  going  along  the  coast  from  Napier  to  Auckland  we 
met  with  an  experience  which  nearly  cost  us  our  lives. 
We  boarded  the  ship,  a  small  vessel,  shortly  before  dark 
and  as  the  salon  and  cabins  were  stuffy  I  had  the  long 
bamboo  deck  chair  unstrapped  and  carried  to  the  deck. 
This  chair  had  been  a  great  comfort  to  my  wife  during 
our  voyage  through  the  tropics,  when  we  often  remained 
aloft  for  the  better  part  of  the  nights,  enjoying  the  soft 


WESTWARD  HO  177 

balmy  air,  watching  the  stars  in  the  heavens  or  the  phos- 
phorescent lights  on  the  waters,  until  the  sailors  came 
around  with  the  hose  and  mops  to  wash  down  the  decks. 
On  board  were  many  passengers,  and  as  there  was  con- 
siderable confusion  on  the  main  deck,  we  decided  to  have 
the  chair  placed  farther  up  on  the  small  deck  under  the 
bridge  and  opposite  the  door  of  the  chart  house,  or  the 
captain's  cabin.  This  room  contained  the  desk  for  the 
charts,  nautical  instruments,  etc.,  with  a  swivel  chair 
screwed  to  the  floor.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  cabin 
there  was  a  short  upholstered  bench  or  sofa  built  firmly 
into  the  woodwork  and  a  large  barometer  hung  above  it. 
I  helped  my  wife  up  the  ladder  to  her  chair,  and  tucked 
her  up  in  furs  and  rugs,  leaving  an  umbrella  in  case  it 
should  come  on  to  rain.  The  sea  so  far  was  quite  calm 
and  with  no  thought  of  danger  I  went  down  to  the  smok- 
ing room ;  and  when  dinner  was  served  I  had  the  steward 
take  her  a  tray  of  substantial  food,  with  a  pint  of  stout. 
I  went  up  several  times  to  see  if  she  were  comfortable 
or  thought  best  to  come  down  and  pass  the  night  in  the 
cabin  under  shelter,  in  case  of  rain ;  but  Mrs.  Musin 
had  a  horror  of  the  cramped  close  cabins,  and  said  she 
would  rather  remain  out  even  in  a  storm.  Canvas  had 
been  placed  along  the  railing,  and  all  seemed  safe  enough, 
but  about  midnight  the  vessel  gave  a  violent  lurch,  and 
a  storm,  the  like  of  which  I  have  never  seen,  burst  on 
us.  This  was  at  the  winter  season  in  this  part  of  the 
world,  and  hastily  putting  on  my  fur  coat  and  cap  I 
made  for  the  deck.  It  took  .me  what  seemed  an  hour  to 
climb  to  the  upper  deck,  hurtled  about,  dodging  waves 
and  spray,  but  by  clinging  to  the  ropes  I  finally  reached 


178  MY  MEMORIES 

the  spot  where  I  had  left  my  wife;  but  wife,  chair  and 
all  were  gone !  I  glanced  in,  and  there  she  was  stretched 
out  on  the  bench,  a  very,  very  sick  woman.  The  chair 
had  been  blown  to  the  other  side  of  the  ship.  She  told 
me  that  when  the  first  blast  of  the  storm  struck  the  ship 
her  little  dog  (which  had  been  curled  up  on  her  lap,  un- 
der the  rugs)  made  a  sudden  leap  for  the  chart  house,  and 
thinking  "  if  a  dog  knew  enough  to  go  in  when  it  rained 
she  had  better  do  the  same,"  they  both  took  possession 
of  the  place,  and  no  one  had  been  in  to  disturb  them  but 
an  officer  who  ran  down  the  ladder,  his  oilskins  shining 
and  dripping  with  water,  and  rushing  in,  turned  on  the 
electric  light  a  moment,  made  a  rapid  calculation  and 
disappeared.  She  knew,  she  said,  that  this  meant  some- 
thing,—  rocks  probably.  Meanwhile  I  seated  myself  in 
the  swivel  chair,  hanging  on  as  best  I  might,  while  the 
sea,  lashed  to  foam,  boiling  and  frothing  over  the  decks, 
made  night  hideous.  Suddenly,  another  violent  lurch 
sent  my  chair  and  myself  whirling  and  sprawling  on  the 
floor.  There  I  remained  until,  after  long  hours  of  fear 
and  discomfort,  the  darkness  began  to  lift  a  little.  See- 
ing the  barometer  in  the  dim  light,  I  kept  my  eye  on  it 
for  any  indication  of  a  change.  The  mercury  in  the  tube 
had  gone  down  about  as  far  as  was  possible  for  it  to  go, 
and  after  some  time  I  became  convinced  that  there  was  a 
very  slight  rise. 

"  Barometer  going  up,  my  dear !  Storm  is  about 
over,"  I  said,  arousing  my  wife,  and  as  morning  broke 
in  bright  sunshine,  the  captain  came  down  off  the  bridge 
and  told  us  that  the  violence  of  the  tempest  had  been  so 
great  that,  with  full  steam  ahead  every  instant,  we  could 


WESTWARD  HO  179 

not  move  a  foot  forward.  We  were  very  near  the  rocks 
too,  and  in  great  peril  for  some  hours;  and  in  fact,  on 
a  later  voyage,  that  ship  was  totally  wrecked  on  those 
very  rocks  which  we  had  escaped. 

Our  return  journey  was  operated  with  mathematical 
regularity.  The  230  miles  between  Dunedin  and  Christ- 
church  were  made  by  express  train  and  at  ten  o'clock 
we  embarked  at  Littleton  for  Wellington,  arriving  the 
next  evening  at  six.  There  we  found  many  friends 
awaiting  us  who  proposed  another  concert  for  that  same 
evening.  This  being  out  of  the  question,  they  expressed 
the  wish  that  an  accident  of  some  sort  would  prevent  our 
leaving  for  several  days  at  least ;  and,  in  fact,  early  in 
the  morning,  at  the  hour  for  sailing,  a  dense  fog  rested 
over  the  bay;  but  the  captain,  having  on  board  the  mails 
for  England  which  must  arrive  in  Sydney  on  time,  as- 
sured us  that  the  fog  would  lift  as  soon  as  we  got  out 
into  Cook's  Strait,  which  is  eternally  swept  by  winds. 
Getting  out  in  this  dense  fog  was  no  easy  matter,  and 
soundings  were  made  at  regular  intervals  by  the  sailors, 
and  as  we  crawled  slowly  along  in  the  dense  fog  we  heard 
them  call  out,  so  many  brasses  to  starboard ;  so  many 
brasses  to  larboard,  so  many  brasses  to  triboard,  etc., 
in  a  monotonous  way,  very  depressing  to  our  spirits ;  but 
suddenly  the  sun  bursts  forth ;  the  propeller  begins  to 
whirl,  and  at  once  we  are  out  in  the  strait;  the  water 
rough  as  usual,  but  the  vessel  being  larger  than  the  one 
before,  and  the  weather  being  clear,  we  were  able  to 
withstand  the  motion  very  well.  Our  spirits  rose  at  the 
thought  of  the  new  experiences  in  prospect  in  the  land 
for  which  we  had  expressly  set  out,  and  to  reach  which 


i8o  MY  MEMORIES 

we  had  been  so  long  en  route  that  it  seemed  an  age  or 
two  since  we  sailed  from  San  Francisco, —  but  every  mo- 
ment had  been  filled  with  things  of  interest  and  pleasure. 
Although  we  would  land  at  Sydney,  we  would  not  give 
concerts  there  but  take  a  train  at  once  for  Melbourne. 

We  had  before  us  an  ocean  voyage  of  1200  miles  and  it 
behooved  us  to  get  to  work  rehearsing  our  programs  for 
our  Australian  debut.  In  fact  we  turned  the  salon  of 
the  Wakatipu  into  a  concert  hall.  The  passengers,  at- 
tracted by  the  music,  seemed  to  be  much  interested  at 
first,  but  at  the  endless  succession  of  sonatas,  concertos, 
arias  and  preludes,  they  little  by  little  deserted  the  place 
and  left  us  victors  on  the  battlefield,  with  the  exception 
of  one,  who,  with  remarkable  fidelity,  appeared  each  day, 
seated  himself  silently  and  alone,  surveying  us  cautiously 
but  apparently  unmoved  by  interminable  scales  and 
roulades.  We  decided  that  we  would  see  if  we  could 
dislodge  the  gentleman,  and  valiant  efforts  were  made 
to  produce  the  most  fearful  discords;  but  he  remained 
faithfully  at  his  post,  imperturbable  as  ever. 

*'  We  are  losing  our  time,"  said  our  pianist,  "  that  man 
must  be  deaf." 

A  wager  was  made,  and  approaching  the  gentleman 
to  clear  up  the  question  our  auditor  —  the  first  to  break 
the  silence, —  demanded  :  — 

"  Sprechen  Sie  Deutsch?" 

I  replied  in  German,  "  Oh !  yes ;  but  if  you  wish  to  speak 
German,  here  is  my  pianist,  he  is  a  German  " ;  but  the 
man  looked  vaguely  at  me  and  replied  in  perfect  Eng- 
lish:— 


WESTWARD  HO  i8i 

"  I  did  not  understand  what  you  said ;  but  parlez-vous 
frangais  (do  you  speak  French)  ?  " 

"Certainly,"  I  replied  in  French.  "The  French  (al- 
though I  am  a  native  of  Belgium)  is  my  maternal  lan- 
guage.    You  also  speak  French?" 

My  interlocutor,  returning  once  more  to  the  language 
of  Shakespeare,  replied :  — 

"  I  have  forgotten  my  French  somewhat ;  but  habla  Vd 
Espafiol?  (Do  you  speak  Spanish)?"  To  which  I 
replied  in  Spanish: — "  A  little;  but  if  you  would  like  to 
talk  Spanish,  here  is  my  secretary,  who  lived  a  long  time 
in  Spain,  and  speaks  it  very  fluently." 

This  time  he  was  dumbfounded,  and  exclaimed: 
"  You  speak  all  languages  then  in  your  company?  " 

I,  nothing  daunted,  replied :  "  All  except  Chinese  and 
Russian;  but  I  see  you  yourself  are  quite  a  polyglot?  " 

"  I  ?  a  Polyglot  ?  Oh,  no,  sir,  I  am  an  Australian, 
thank  God !  "  We  burst  forth  into  uncontrollable  laugh- 
ter, as  the  poor  fellow  in  his  ignorance  mistook  the 
word  for  a  man.  Quite  hurt  by  the  reflection  which  he 
thought  was  thus  cast  upon  his  adored  Australia,  he 
vanished;  but  some  one  lost  the  wager,  of  course,  al- 
though a  judge  might  have  decided  the  question  both  for 
and  against  the  whinner,  for  as  to  ordinary  sounds  he  was 
not  deaf ;  but  to  musical  sounds  he  was,  psychologically 
speaking,  deaf  as  a  post.  We  had  committed  an  un- 
pardonable offense  in  naming  him  a  Polyglot,  a  term 
which  he  had  misconstrued ;  for  the  Australian  is  very 
proud  of  his  country  and  loves  it  inordinately.  Do  they 
not.  inhabit  an  island  which  is  in  itself  a  continent?     An 


i82  MY  MEMORIES 

Empire!  not  composed  of  Irish,  Scottish  and  Enghsh, 
but  of  Australians,  pure  and  simple?  Has  it  not  pro- 
duced enough  pure  gold  to  upset  any  secular  monetary  sys- 
tem? Their  climate!  Is  it  not  the  finest  in  the  world? 
and  have  not  their  volunteers  rushed  to  aid  Old  England 
when  menaced  by  designing  enemies?  Everything  Aus- 
tralian, even  to  the  horses,  is  considered  superior  to  any- 
thing in  any  other  country,  old  or  new.  English  horse- 
men are  looked  upon  with  disdain ;  for  colonists,  accus- 
tomed to  handle  horses  from  childhood,  become  in- 
trepid and  audacious  cavaliers.  Love  for  the  horse,  and 
horse  racing,  have  reached  colossal  proportions  and  hardly 
a  day  passes  where  (among  a  population  of  millions) 
there  are  not  several  races  run,  and  every  village  has  its 
race  course,  every  child  just  learning  to  talk  will  tell  you 
the  name  of  the  winner  of  the  Melbourne  Cup.  And 
the  harbor  of  Sydney,  N.  S.  W.  ?  is  it  not  the  finest  in  the 
world  ? 

"  You  will  enter  it  at  the  time  most  propitious  for  ad- 
miring the  most  wonderful  in  the  world,"  said  our  cap- 
tain. 

"Are  you  not  exaggerating  it  a  little?"  we  asked. 
"  There  is  the  Golden  Gate  at  San  Francisco,  the  bay  at 
Auckland,  the  harbor  at  New  York,  the  Golden  Horn  at 
Constantinople,  the  bay  of  Naples  and  many  others 
which  are  wonders  of  the  world,  which  we  have  been 
lucky  enough  to  have  seen  and  admired  " —  but  no  —  the 
captain  will  not  admit  that  there  is  another  harbor  in  the 
world  to  compare  with  that  of  Sydney,  and  describes 
with  enthusiasm  the  beauties  of  this  harbor  of  Australia. 
And  in  truth  it  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world, 


WESTWARD  HO  183 

framed  by  hills  and  terraces  covered  with  verdure  of 
varied  tints,  giving  to  it  an  aspect  delicate  and  fairylike 
in  the  soft  light  of  early  morning.  The  weather  is  fine, 
and  the  air  soft  and  limpid,  the  waters  of  the  harbor, 
dotted  with  boats  of  fishermen  and  tourists,  reflect  each 
object,  giving  the  impression  of  the  drop  scene  in  a 
theater,  which  will  at  a  given  signal  be  raised ;  but  no, 
as  we  approach,  the  illusion  vanishes,  and  we  hear  from 
afar  the  rumble  of  a  city  life,  life  of  a  multitude  awaking 
to  another  day,  and  soon  we  are  engulfed  in  it,  and  finally 
place  our  feet  on  the  soil  of  Australia. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

australia 
Eighth  Letter  —  October  i6th,  1892 

We  were  in  time  to  catch  our  train  for  Melbourne, 
and  deferred  sight-seeing  until  our  return,  when  in  a  few 
weeks'  time  we  would  have  opportunity  for  it. 

Below  the  equator  the  seasons  are  reversed,  and  here 
we  were,  in  the  month  of  April,  just  entering  the  winter 
season.  On  the  journey  down  to  Melbourne  in  the  Pull- 
man car  it  was  cold,  contrasting  disagreeably  with  the 
milder  atmosphere  of  Sydney  and  the  deHcious  warmth 
of  the  semi-tropics.  The  quite  sudden  change,  together 
with  fatigue  incidental  to  continuous  travel  and  the  nerv- 
ous strain  of  concert  giving,  receptions,  etc.,  ad  infinitum, 
proved  almost  too  much  for  my  valiant  little  wife,  whose 
voice  became  hoarse,  much  to  the  anxiety  of  the  manage- 
ment, but  I  felt  sure  that  after  some  hours  of  rest,  and 
a  few  drops  of  that  marvelous  extract  of  the  Tasmanian 
Eucalyptus  leaves,  which  would  disperse  the  hoarseness, 
she  would  be  able  to  warble  as  usual,  and  such  was  the 
case. 

Melbourne  is  a  large  and  beautiful  city,  the  streets  wide 
and  straight,  dotted  with  fine  buildings  in  American  style, 
the  splendid  House  of  Parliament,  public  edifices,  munici- 
pal buildings,  clubs,  shops,  post  office.  Princess  Theatre, 
and  others,  and  the.  Town  Hall  which  possesses  an  im- 

184 


AUSTRALIA  185 

mense  hall,  available  for  concerts,  balls,  and  meetings 
generally,  seating  5,000  persons.  It  was  here  we  gave 
our  concerts,  and  a  pleasing  sight  it  was,  both  to  the 
management  and  artists,  to  find  it  filled  to  overflowing; 
but  although  almost  any  artist  of  European  reputation 
is  sure  to  appear  to  a  full  house,  it  is  not  due  so  much 
to  the  merit  of  the  attraction  as  to  the  passion  for  music 
which  distinguishes  the  population  of  these  Antipodes. 

Melbourne  is  a  gay  city,  traversed  by  an  excellent  sys- 
tem of  electrical  tramways,  which  puts  all  parts  of  the 
city  into  communication. 

Its  numerous  parks  are  beautiful  and  well  kept,  which 
give  the  city  an  air  of  prosperity  and  comfort,  and  are 
enjoyed  by  the  crowd  which  flocks  there  at  all  hours  of 
the  day  to  enjoy  the  pure  air  and  refreshing  shade  of  the 
trees. 

These  impressions  were  true  to  the  general  aspect,  but 
we  became  aware  very  soon  that  in  reality  this  superb 
city  was  undergoing  a  financial  crisis.  As  before  stated, 
companies  considered  the  most  solid  had  failed  or  were 
in  process  of  liquidation,  business  was  nearly  suspended, 
and  many  banks  had  stopped  payment,  miners  being  on 
the  strike,  revenue  was  cut  off  from  most  of  the  stock- 
holders. Underneath  all  the  apparent  richness,  imagine 
crowds  of  men  without  work  encumbering  all  the  street 
corners,  filling  the  saloons,  discussing  the  deplorable  state 
of  affairs,  lack  of  work,  hunger  and  even  famine  staring 
them  in  the  face. 

Bar-maids  are  employed  to  serve  drinks  in  all  the  bars ; 
but  are  not  allowed  to  take  anything  themselves,  and  they 
have  an  eye  to  the  business,  for  their  position  and  wage 


i86  MY.  MEMORIES 

depends  upon  the  receipts,  with  the  result  that  they  encour- 
age drunkenness.  Saturday  is  a  day  for  the  grand  de- 
bauch. The  theaters  are  filled,  the  cafe-concerts  en- 
gorged with  people,  noise,  movement,  excitement  every- 
where, when,  on  the  last  stroke  of  twelve,  all  becomes 
calm  as  Sunday  commences,  establishments  close  up  and 
the  people  go  to  their  homes.  Respect  for  the  Sabbath 
is  a  trait  for  which  all  the  British  colonies  are  remarkable. 
There  is  a  Chinese  quarter  in  the  city,  but  less  picturesque 
than  San  Francisco.  The  Chinaman  prospers,  silently, 
washes,  cooks  and  makes  the  gardens  for  the  whole  na- 
tion, but  he  does  not  become  proud.  He  diligently  pursues 
his  work,  and  full  of  perseverance,  attains  his  object. 

The  Australian  colonies,  frightened  by  the  influx  of 
Orientals,  imposed  a  tax  of  about  $250.00  as  a  bar  to 
Chinese  immigration,  and  vessels  are  limited  as  to  the 
number  carried.  Wherever  I  have  seen  the  Chinese  they 
gave  me  the  impression  of  being  peaceful,  sober  and  in- 
dustrious, docile  and  persevering,  but  the  people  among 
whom  they  live  treat  them  with  disdain  and  hostility. 

Sydney  and  Environs 

Sydney,  N.  S.  W.,  is  a  charming  city  with  numerous 
villas  scattered  through  its  suburbs,  and  betwe'en  Sydney 
and  Paramatta  the  country  is  sufficiently  beautiful  to  give 
one  at  first  a  high  impression  of  Australia,  but  in  going 
further  inland  the  landscape  offers  a  despairing  monotony 
to  the  view.  Australia  is  a  country  in  gray,  and  any 
painter  partial  to  neutral  tints  could  never  find  himself 
more  in  his  element  than  here.  The  soil  is  gray,  the 
grass,  the  trees,  leaves  and  trunks,  equally  gray;  and  the 


AUSTRALIA  187 

gray  blue  of  the  sky  completes  the  symphony  in  gray. 
From  Queensland,  to  the  south,  Victoria  or  West  Aus- 
tralia, winter  or  summer,  it  is  the  same.  Here  in  the 
springtime  the  trees  have  kept  the  foliage  which  they 
carried  all  the  winter,  because  their  leaves  do  not  fall. 

The  forests  of  Australia  never  give  the  delicious  con- 
trast of  bare  branches  in  winter,  delicate  tints  of  budding 
springtime,  then  covered  in  summer  with  rich  shades  of 
green  and  in  autumn  by  a  brilliancy  and  variety  of  color 
rivaling  the  richest  palette  of  an  artist.  Here  the 
branches  and  leaves,  instead  of  growing  horizontally, 
push  vertically  into  the  air,  giving  very  little  shade,  and 
instead  of  losing  their  leaves  it  is  the  bark  which  is  shed 
annually.  The  bark  of  the  eucalyptus  hangs  in  long 
strands  from  the  tall  nude  trunks ;  the  leaves,  rigJd  and 
metallic  in  color,  give  a  strange  and  melancholy  effect. 

The  city  of  Sydney  has  a  marvelous  town  ha'll  with  a 
wonderful  auditorium,  larger  even  than  that  of  Mel- 
bourne, where  the  people  throng  for  concerts,  given 
weekly  the  year  around  by  the  City  Organist.  The  grand 
organ  in  this  hall  is  probably  the  largest  in  the  world,  ex- 
cept that  of  the  Exposition  at  St.  Louis,  a  magnificent  in- 
strument, surmounting  a  vast  stage  filled  with  tier  upon 
tier  of  seats  rising  one  above  the  other,  where  a  chorus  of 
500  could  easily  find  place, —  the  organist,  holding  the 
official  position  and  paid  a  yearly  salary  of  $5,000.00, 
was  August  Wiegand,  from  Liege,  Belgium.  He  was 
allowed  certain  perquisites,  to  give  concerts  of  his  own 
and  other  benefits.  He  had  been  there  for  a  number  of 
years  when  we  met  out  there,  and  think  of  the  repertory 
necessary  for  concerts,  per  year?     A  fine  musician,  of 


i88  MY  MEMORIES 

course,  and  a  splendid  performer  was  August  —  a  big 
man,  genial  and  hearty,  he  had,  down  somewhere  in  the 
bowels  of  the  organ  loft,  a  nice  little  wine  cellar  all  his 
own,  where  he  dispensed  a  few  glasses  of  choice  wine 
to  particular  friends,  and  those  few  compatriots  who 
happened  at  very  rare  intervals  to  find  themselves  in  the 
Antipodes  were  very  special  recipients  of  his  bountiful 
hospitality. 

It  was  a  joyful  surprise  to  meet  a  Belgian,  a  Liegeois, 
out  there  on  the  other  side  of  the  world.  He  had  a 
charming  wife,  a  number  of  children  and  they  kept  open 
house  for  us  during  our  stay  in  and  about  Sydney.  My 
wife  and  I  recall  with  the  greatest  pleasure  our  visits  with 
the  Wiegands. 

An  amusing  incident  occurred,  with  Wiegand  in  the 
foreground.  One  afternoon  when  my  wife,  my  pianist 
and  I  were  going  to  Paramatta  to  give  a  concert  in  the 
evening,  the  journey  was  made  by  boat  (Paramatta,  by 
the  way,  is  where  the  regattas  —  world  contests  for  scull- 
ing—  take  place).  To  take  a  little  outing  the  Wie- 
gands and  a  number  of  other  friends  decided  to  accom- 
pany us.  Among  them  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vanderveldt, 
the  Belgian  consul  and  his  wife,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keller- 
mann,  parents  of  Annette  Kellermann,  at  that  time  a  lit- 
tle girl,  but  who  has  since  become  the  Queen  of  the 
Aquatics.  We  took  a  boat,  but  unfortunately  not  the 
boat  we  should  have  taken,  and  after  sailing  along  for  an 
hour,  enjoying  the  delightful  breeze,  the  boat  drew  up 
to  a  lonely,  deserted,  and  rather  dilapidated  dock,  and 
we  were  told  to  disembark  and  wait  half  an  hour  for  the 
boat  which  would  enable  us  to  reach  Paramatta  just  in 


AUSTRALIA  189 

time  to  begin  the  concert  at  the  hour  announced.  There 
we  were,  stranded,  in  evening  dress,  in  this  apparently 
deserted  place,  with  the  sun  beginning  to  sink  hazily  to- 
ward the  horizon.  What  should  we  do  to  pass  the  time  ? 
Glancing  about  we  saw  a  dusty  road  winding  up  a  hill 
with  a  few  houses  ornamenting  it  on  either  side.  On 
the  inspiration  of  the  moment  Wiegand  said:  — 

"  This  is  a  good  place  for  a  funeral  procession," —  and 
thereupon  I  took  out  my  violin  and  he  took  my  double 
violin  box  in  his  arms,  holding  it  straight  out  as  if  it  were 
a  small  casket,  and  he  headed  for  the  road,  I  following 
with  my  violin,  the  others  of  our  party  coming  after  in 
single  file.  With  a  doleful  tune  and  somber  chords  I 
played  the  dirge,  to  which  we  all  kept  step  in  solemn 
time.  Suddenly  the  place,  apparently  deserted  before, 
was  alive  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  villas,  at  their  doors, 
windows,  and  hanging  over  the  gates,  gazing  at  the 
strange  spectacle  in  bewilderment.  This  was  too  much 
for  us  to  keep  our  faces  straight,  and  bursting  into  a  gale 
of  laughter,  in  which  the  populace  joined,  the  procession 
was  broken  up,  and  running  back  as  best  we  could,  puffing 
and  perspiring,  we  were  just  in  time  for  the  boat,  which, 
in  the  meantime,  had  been  coming  up  the  river.  My 
adventures  were  not  entirely  over,  however,  for,  as  we 
were  all  in  high  spirits,  we  began  dancing  about  the  deck, 
when  a  sound  very  like  a  rip  made  me  pause,  and  on  re- 
tiring to  the  salon  I  found  after  turning  the  upper  part  of 
my  body  around  with  much  difficulty,  to  ascertain  the 
extent  of  the  damage, —  I  found  that  my  evening  trou- 
sers (and  the  only  ones  I  had  with  me)  were  torn 
squarely  across  the  back.     Nothing  could  be  done  in  the 


icK)  MY  MEMORIES 

way  of  repairs  until  we  reached  the  concert  hall,  at  any 
rate,  and  I  was  careful  to  keep  my  face  toward  the  folks 
and  my  coat  tails  down,  until  such  time  as  my  wife,  by 
dint  of  some  pins,  etc.,  could  make  me  presentable.  I 
passed  the  rest  of  the  evening  in  an  uncomfortable  state 
of  self-consciousness,  and  had  to  be  very  careful  as  to 
my  manners  in  taking  a  chair. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MEXICO 

On  my  return  from  Australia  for  my  American  season 
of  1892-93,  I  had  reserved  five  weeks  for  a  trip  to 
Mexico.  On  landing  at  San  Francisco  from  Sydney,  I 
found  that  my  American  manager,  R.  E.  Johnston,  had 
fixed  the  first  concert  in  October  at  Detroit,  Michigan, 
for  a  Sunday  night  at  the  Whitney  Opera  House.  This 
concert  brought  me  a  lot  of  trouble  with  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  all  over  the  country.  In  Chicago, 
there  was  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  paper  which  was  sent  to  every 
association  in  the  Union.  It  contained  an  article  written 
by  the  secretary  of  the  association  in  Detroit,  which  con- 
demned my  company  for  the  Sunday  concert  and  advised 
all  other  associations  not  to  engage  the  Musin  Concert 
Company.  Johnston  had  booked  us  with  a  number  of 
Y.  M,  C.  A.'s,  and  the  intention  was  to  have  my  company 
tabooed  by  the  whole  association,  and  several  of  them, 
with  which  I  had  contracts,  tried  to  break  their  engage- 
ments with  me.  To  one  who  has  lived  in  Europe,  where 
liberal  ideas  generally  prevail,  their  action  seemed  ex- 
traordinarily narrow  and  bigoted.  I  used  to  call  their 
association  the  "  Republican  Anti-Catholic  Club,"  but  I 
am  glad  to  say  they  have  changed  with  the  times  and  have 
acquired  more  liberal  ideas  and  I  hear  that  in  France  the 

191 


ig2  MY  MEMORIES 

soldiers  were  permitted  to  have  any  kind  of  entertain- 
ment on  Sundays  during  the  war  19 14-19 18. 

After  giving  six  concerts  per  week  for  ten  successive 
weeks,  we  reached  Laredo,  Texas,  where  we  gave  our 
final  one  before  going  into  Mexico.  My  agent  for  this 
tour  was  a  Frenchman,  Ferraud,  who  was  also  attached  to 
the  Johnston  bureau  for  the  American  tour.  Between 
Laredo  and  Monterey,  the  first  large  town  in  Mexico,  we 
had  to  travel  on  a  narrow  gauge  railway  and,  as  on  the 
last  trip  down,  the  sleeper  had  turned  over  on  going 
round  a  curve,  we  hoped  they  would  not  go  too  fast. 
We  gave  two  concerts  in  Monterey  and  two  in  San  Luis 
Potosi  and  then  went  direct  to  Mexico  City. 

I  shall  reserve  many  details  as  to  Mexico  when  writ- 
ing of  my  second  trip  in  1896,  where  I  passed  the  greater 
part  of  the  winter  visiting  all  of  the  towns  of  any  size, 
such  as  Guadalajara,  Vera  Cruz,  etc.,  to  El  Paso  by  the 
broad  gauge  railroad.  I  was  told  on  my  arrival  in  Mex- 
ico City  that  my  agent's  American  way  of  advertising 
did  not  please  at  all.  I  found  he  had  got  out  five  large 
posters  or  placards,  each  with  a  separate  letter  of  my 
name.  These  posters,  printed  with  one  large  letter  each, 
M-U-S-I-N,  were  to  be  carried  about  the  streets  by  five 
"  sandwich  "  men,  from  10  a.  m.  to  2  p.  m.  every  day  for 
one  week.  These  five  men  were  to  walk  perfectly  in 
order,  of  course,  that  the  name  could  be  read  by  every  one, 
but  very  often  the  name  would  be  mixed  up,  as  the  man 
bearing  the  letter  "  M  "  would  stop  and  talk  with  the 
one  carrying  the  "  N  "  or  some  other  letter,  and  the  re- 
sult can  be  imagined.  The  papers  had  made  fun  of  it 
—  so  much  so  that  the  newspapers  refused  to  publish 


MEXICO  193 

our  programs.  They  said  "  that  the  American  method 
does  not  go  here.  Let  your  artists  come  and  show  what 
they  can  do,  and  if  they  are  good,  they  do  not  want  such 
Barnum-Hke  advertisement."  I  had  been  kept  in  ignor- 
ance of  all  this,  or  I  would  not  have  permitted  it. 

Our  first  concert  was  badly  attended,  every  one  in  the 
hall  having  an  idea  that  we  were  fakirs,  and  they  had  no 
intention  of  compromising  themselves  with  any  applause 
when  I  appeared.  The  first  piece  was  a  suite  by  Franz 
Ries  in  four  parts.  As  I  put  my  violin  in  tune  with  the 
piano,  I  remarked  to  my  pianist:  "They  are  not  very 
warm  in  this  country."  The  first  movement  of  the  suite 
is  an  Allemanda,  many  scales  and  a  large  theme,  and,  at 
the  end,  a  few  people  tried  to  applaud  but  were  quickly 
silenced  by  a  few  hisses.  The  second  movement,  a  Minu- 
etto,  received  a  litde  applause  and  no  hisses.  Then  came 
the  Andante,  a  beautiful  piece  for  the  violin,  and  at  the 
end  of  it  some  people  in  the  front  rows,  who  so  far  had 
remained  totally  indifferent,  began  to  look  at  one  an- 
other and  incline  their  heads  as  if  to  say  "  it  is  better 
than  we  expected."  The  fourth  movement,  the  Intro- 
duction and  Gavotte,  went  well,  and  this  time  the  whole 
house  greeted  me  and  recalled  me  several  times. 

The  Mexicans  are  very  demonstrative  when  they  are 
satisfied,  and  after  playing  the  first  encore,  the  "  Preis- 
lied  "  from  the  Meistersinger,  the  whole  house  surren- 
dered. The  ice  was  broken  and  from  that  time  on  every- 
thing was  a  grand  success.  We  met  many  real  music 
lovers,  among  them  M.  Hansen  of  the  Russian  Legation, 
a  fine  pianist,  a  pupil  of  Rubinstein.  A  member  of  the 
firm  of  Wagner  and  Levien,  who  had  been  the  first  to 


194  MY  MEMORIES 

discourage  my  agent,  changed  his  opinion.  He  had  said 
that  to  his  knowledge  "  no  good  music  takes  in  Mexico." 
We  gave  four  concerts  in  Mexico  City  in  one  week  to 
good  business.  We  then  went  to  Puebla,  where  we  gave 
three  concerts  with  excellent  success  and  also  played  in 
sqme  other  towns  on  our  way  back.  I  was  so  impressed 
with  the  way  the  Mexicans  responded  to  our  concerts 
that  I  resolved  to  make  another  and  longer  tour  of  the 
country.  After  finishing  with  the  concerts  in  the  U.  S. 
with  Johnston,  I  decided  to  be  my  own  manager,  with  a 
good  advance  agent,  whom  I  took  with  me  up  into  the 
northern  part  of  New  York,  where  we  spent  the  whole 
summer,  having  a  fine  time  in  the  Adirondacks  fishing 
and  hunting. 

The  ensuing  season  I  gave  one  hundred  and  sixty  con- 
certs, covering  the  country  from  Maine  to  Southern  Cali- 
fornia and  from  Winnipeg  to  New  Orleans.  Our  tour 
ended  in  May  and  my  wife  and  I  then  went  to  Europe 
to  spend  the  summer  with  my  relatives  in  Liege  and  Tilff. 
The  idea  of  a  second  Mexican  tour  obsessed  me  and, 
having  made  the  acquaintance  in  Los  Angeles  of  a  Bel- 
gian named  Bageard,  who  knew  Mexico  well,  I  engaged 
him  as  manager,  and  although  I  had  a  very  sad  experi- 
ence on  that  tour,  which  I  shall  describe  later,  I  shall  never 
forget  my  adventures  and  the  unique  episodes  of  this 
tour. 

Bageard  advised  me  to  begin  in  Mexico  toward  the 
end  of  December,  1895,  and  as  I  had  to  keep  my  com- 
pany busy,  I  first  accepted  some  weeks  with  the  Slayton 
Bureau,  until  December  15.  I  played  thirty  concerts 
with  Slayton  and  the  last  of  these  was  given  in  Buffalo, 


MEXICO  195 

where  we  had  a  fearful  snowstorm.  We  jumped  from 
Buffalo  to  Dallas,  Texas,  where  an  old  pupil  of  mine  was 
the  leading  violinist.  He  wanted  me  to  give  a  concert 
there.  We  did  so,  stopping  over  for  the  one  night,  and 
we  had  a  large  crowd,  but  a  small  cyclone  shook  the  build- 
ing so  that  many  people  ran  home.  I  did  not  know  but 
the  building  would  collapse  and  never  in  my  life  have  I 
been  so  anxious  during  a  concert.  No  harm  was  done, 
however,  and  we  went  on  to  Laredo  and,  although  but  a 
small  town,  we  gave  two  concerts  there  to  standing  room 
only. 

We  then  began  the  Mexican  tour.  I  met  my  manager 
there  in  Monterey,  and  as  we  had  been  there  before,  we 
were  well  received.  I  learned  that  Goldsmith,  the  man- 
ager, accompanist  and  friend  of  Pablo  de  Sarasate,  had 
been  a  business  man  in  Monterey.  I  had  met  Goldsmith 
very  often  years  before  in  England  and  France.  He 
was  the  first  manager  for  Sarasate  in  Germany  and  stayed 
with  Sarasate  nearly  the  whole  year  round.  He  was  a 
shrewd  man  and  helped  the  illustrious  artist  a  great  deal 
in  his  career.  We  gave  three  concerts  in  Monterey,  then 
went  for  a  week  to  San  Luis  Potosi,  playing  at  the 
theater  every  other  night,  and  then  on  to  Tampico,  a  jump 
to  about  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level  where  the 
heat  during  the  day  was  terrific  but  the  nights  were 
cold.  There  we  gave  two  concerts  and  had  a  little  di- 
vertissement at  the  theater  just  before  the  first  concert, 
furnished  by  an  earthquake  which  sent  everything  jump- 
ing up  and  down.  There  was  a  volcano  nearby  which 
also  threatened  to  demolish  things. 

My  manager  had  started  for  Mexico  City  and  we  had 


196  MY  MEMORIES 

to  go  back  to  San  Luis  Potosi  to  take  a  direct  train  by 
the  narrow  gauge,  and  trouble  began  here.  The  varied 
changes  of  temperature  from  a  bHzzard  in  Buffalo  to 
the  terrific  heat  of  Tampico,  and  then  the  sudden  eleva- 
tion from  sea  level  up  to  San  Luis  Potosi,  caused  such 
an  upheaval  in  my  circulatory  system  that  I  was  stricken 
with  inflammatory  rheumatism.  It  attacked  my  legs  and 
when  we  got  to  the  hotel,  my  wife  called  a  doctor.  I  told 
him  I  must  get  on  to  Mexico  City,  but  he  told  me  I  had 
an  acute  attack  and  it  would  be  some  time  before  I  could 
play  as  it  would  probably  get  to  the  joints  of  the  arms, 
and,  in  truth,  the  next  day  I  could  not  move  my  arms. 
The  doctor  said  that  Mexico  City  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion for  me,  as  it  is  situated  on  a  lake  seven  thousand  feet 
above  sea  level  and  is  a  hot-bed  of  rheumatism.  He  also 
said  that  San  Luis  Potosi  was  not  good  either  and  ad- 
vised me  to  go  to  Guadalajara  as  soon  as  I  was  able, 
where  the  climate  was  much  drier;  in  fact,  the  dryest 
place  in  Mexico.  He  gave  me  some  medicine  and  I  en- 
gaged a  Mexican  to  stay  with  me  nights,  my  wife  caring 
.  for  me  all  day.  The  Mexican  slept  at  the  foot  of  my 
bed  on  the  floor,  without  a  cushion  or  cover,  as  is  their 
custom.  I,  who  had  a  comfortable  bed,  could  not  sleep, 
while  he  slept  like  a  top !  I  had  to  waken  him  with  a 
tap  from  my  cane  when  I  needed  anything.  I  sent  a 
telegram  to  Bageard  to  stop  the  concerts  and  meet  me  in 
Guadalajara.  As  the  trip  there  took  two  days,  I  had  to 
rest  two  nights  in  small  towns  on  the  way.  One  doctor 
gave  me  iodide  of  potassium  and  another,  in  the  next 
place,  gave  me  a  prescription  to  be  filled  by  the  druggist 
for  phenacetine,  with  directions  to  take  the  five  powders 


MEXICO  197 

of  five  grains  each  every  half  hour.  When  my  wife 
opened  the  first  powder,  she  said :  "  This  does  not  look 
like  phenacetine.  I  am  afraid  to  give  it  to  you.  I  will 
send  for  the  doctor  to  examine  it." 

When  he  came,  in  less  than  an  hour,  and  looked  at 
those  powders,  he  said: 

"  That  druggist  sent  you  morphine  instead  of  phenace- 
tine. Had  Mrs.  Musin  given  you  those  morphine  pow- 
ders, you  would  probably  be  a  dead  man,  unless  I  could 
have  saved  you  by  heroic  measures." 

We  were  badly  frightened  and  I  felt  like  having  that 
drug  clerk  put  in  jail.  What  the  doctor  did  about  it  I 
do  not  know,  for  I  was  suffering  too  much  and  left  the 
next  day  for  Guadalajara.  On  my  arrival,  Bageard  in- 
formed me  that  arrangement  had  been  made  at  the  hotel 
and  a  good  doctor  would  be  there.  And,  in  fact,  ten 
minutes  after  we  were  settled  in  our  rooms  in  came  the 
disciple  of  yEsculapius,  bedecked  and  fixed  up  like  a 
dandy,  who  said : 

"  Ah,  sefior,  esta  U  amalado  esso'es  nada  ?  " 

He  did  not  seem  to  understand,  although  I  was  already 
in  bed,  and  after  such  a  journey,  where  every  jerk  of  the 
train  gave  me  excruciating  pain,  what  I  was  suffering. 
At  last  he  undid  the  bandages  on  all  my  joints  and  wrote 
a  prescription,  taking  his  leave.  I  called  Bageard  and 
told  him  I  would  not  have  that  fellow  any  more.  He  was 
dressed  up  suggesting  that  he  might  be  better  able  to  make 
love  to  girls  than  to  treat  sick  people.  I  told  him  to  pay 
him  and  see  if  he  couldn't  get  a  man  who  looked  like  a 
doctor. 


198  MY  MEMORIES 

In  half  an  hour  he  came  and  said  he  had  found  a  mili- 
tary doctor. 

"  Ah,  that's  something  like,"  I  exclaimed. 

This  doctor  gave  me  confidence  at  once  —  an  earnest, 
middle-aged  man  who  took  charge  of  army  cases,  and  I 
already  felt  better. 

As  soon  as  the  newspapers  knew  I  was  in  town,  they 
sent  reporters  to  interview  me,  and  to  know  if  I  would 
give  concerts  in  Guadalajara.  They  had  read  the  papers 
from  Mexico  City  and  elsewhere  and  remembered  the 
name  from  my  visit  three  years  before.  I  explained  that 
it  would  be  some  time  before  I  could  play  and  that  it  w«as 
doubtful.  There  was  only  one  theater  where  concerts 
could  be  given,  as  their  grand  theater,  which  cost  three 
million  pesos,  had  been  officially  condemned  on  account 
of  the  damage  done  by  an  earthquake.  This  was  a  great 
pity  as  it  was  a  beautiful  theater,  seating  several  thousand 
people,  having  two  rows  of  boxes,  the  galleries  and  stalls 
as  richly  decorated  as  the  Grand  Opera  in  Paris  and,  in 
fact,  was  as  gorgeous  and  pretty  as  any  theater  in  the  big 
capitals. 

Bageard  came  in  one  morning  to  inform  me  that  the 
manager  of  the  old  opera  house  offered  to  play  us  on  a 
percentage  of  sixty-five  to  us  and  thirty-five  to  himself, 
he  to  provide  an  orchestra  of  twelve  and  to  bill  the  town. 
This  was  good  news,  and  I  waited  for  the  doctor  to  come 
in  to  know  how  soon  I  could  undertake  it.  I  could  move 
my  limbs  a  little  and  felt  better.  He  said  in  three  weeks, 
so  I  told  Bageard  to  go  ahead  and  make  a  contract  for 
four  concerts,  three  weeks  from  that  date. 


MEXICO  199 

The  attraction  then  at  the  opera  house  was  a  Zarzuela 
(operetta)  which  did  not  draw,  for  even  at  a  Sunday 
matinee,  which  was  the  best  day  of  the  week,  there  had 
been  only  seventeen  pesos  receipts.  So  the  manager  was 
very  glad  to  accept  any  conditions.  I  soon  was  able  to 
stand  up  and  practice  the  violin,  but  I  had  to  learn  to  walk 
like  a  child  and  one  Sunday  I  went  to  the  theater  sup- 
ported on  both  sides  by  friends  helping  me  to  walk.  This 
made  such  a  bad  impression  on  the  manager  that  he  told 
Bageard  that  he  didn't  want  the  contract  and  that  he 
would  shut  the  theater.  But,  finally,  he  decided  to  let 
us  have  the  theater  for  $85  a  night  for  four  nights,  he  to 
bill  the  town  and  to  provide  the  orchestra  of  twelve  mu- 
sicians. I  told  Bageard  to  accept  the  offer  and  clinch  it 
with  a  contract  made  by  a  lawyer.  The  first  concert  was 
to  take  place  ten  days  after  signing  the  contract  and  the 
sale  of  seats  to  begin  the  Thursday  before.  On  that 
first  day  of  the  sale,  Bageard  came  to  me  with  a  broad 
smile  saying  the  manager  was  now  willing  to  fill  the  first 
contract  on  35  and  65  percentage.  I  asked  him  if  he  had 
seen  the  advance  sale.     He  said  no,  and  I  said : 

"  You  are  very  smart,  my  boy,  for  if  the  sales  were 
not  good  the  manager  would  not  want  to  go  in  with  me." 

So  he  went  to  the  opera  house  and  found  that  all  the 
boxes  and  more  than  half  the  orchestra  seats  had  already 
been  sold.  Of  course  we  kept  him  to  the  new  contract 
and  did  a  large  business  for  the  whole  four  concerts. 
We  could  have  given  more,  but  the  manager  was  sore 
and  would  not  hear  of  any  further  contract  on  any  terms. 
These  four  concerts  filled  the  big  hole  made  in  my  pocket 
during  the  seven  weeks  I  had  been  laid  up.     A  word 


200  MY  MEMORIES 

about  Guadalajara,  which  deserves  its  title  of  "  wonder- 
ful city." 

It  had,  in  those  days,  over  a  hundred  thousand  inhabi- 
tants and  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  cleanest,  hand- 
somest and  most  cheerful  city  in  all  Mexico,  and  is  next 
in  importance  to  the  capital  on  account  of  its  great  manu- 
facturing industries.  They  call  it  the  Manchester  of 
Mexico.  It  lies  on  a  high  plateau  with  mountains  rising 
around  it  and  the  climate  is  very  healthful.  The  women 
are  reported  to  be  the  prettiest  in  the  country.  There 
are  old  churches  and  other  notable  buildings,  mementos 
of  Spanish  domination.  In  the  sacristy  of  the  cathedral 
is  Murillo's  "  Assumption,"  for  which  seventy-five  thou- 
sand dollars  has  been  offered  and  refused.  This  picture 
is  one  of  the  twenty-seven  versions  of  the  subject  painted 
by  Murillo. 

As  the  proprietor  of  the  opera  house  in  Guadalajara 
refused  to  let  us  give  further  concerts  there,  and  as  the 
only  other  hall  was  a  room  in  the  city  hall,  much  too 
small,  I  sent  my  agent  direct  to  Mexico  City  to  make  a 
second  attempt  there.  We  were  already  known  and  as 
it  was  the  third  week  in  February  and  I  wished  to  play  in 
other  cities  before  the  end  of  the  season,  we  lost  no  time 
in  preliminary  advertising,  and,  at  any  rate,  the  first  con- 
cert advertises  a  company  better  than  articles  in  the  papers 
and  bill  posting.  As  my  agent  was  always  a  week  in 
advance,  I  engaged  a  man  to  travel  with  us  and  represent 
my  interests  at  the  box  office.  The  friends  we  had  al- 
ready made  were  glad  to  see  me  again  and  M.  Hansen, 
the  Russian  Minister,  did  what  he  could  to  make  my  visit 
profitable,  and  he  succeeded.     The  first  week  we  gave 


MEXICO  20I 

four  concerts  in  Mexico  City  and  one  in  Puebla,  which 
is  about  the  best  city  after  the  capital.  As  a  number  of 
music  lovers  desired  to  hear  me  play  with  the  orchestra, 
it  was  arranged  with  the  committee  of  the  National  Con- 
servatory of  Music  that  I  should  have  its  orchestra  and 
its  hall  for  three  concerts,  free  of  charge. 

I  telegraphed  to  New  York  for  my  trunk,  containing 
my  orchestrations.  It  arrived  in  three  days.  The  lead- 
ing newspaper  in  Mexico,  "  The  Imparcial,"  put  my 
picture  on  its  front  page  and  with  an  article  covered  the 
entire  front  page,  all  entirely  gratuitous  and  compli- 
mentary. At  these  three  concerts  with  the  orchestra, 
which  were  on  a  Sunday,  Thursday  and  the  following 
Sunday,  I  played  three  concertos,  the  Beethoven,  Mendels- 
sohn and  the  Godard,  and  we  packed  the  houses  with 
the  creme  de  la  creme  of  Mexican  society.  When  the 
reader  bears  in  mind  that  the  imposing  concert  hall  of 
the  conservatory  and  the  orchestra  was  free,  and  the 
piano  and  programs  were  freely  provided  by  Wagner 
and  Levien,  and  that  the  advertisements  in  the  papers 
were  also  without  cost  to  me,  he  must  admit  that,  for  an 
artist,  Mexico  was  literally  a  seventh  heaven.  But  this 
was  not  all,  for  M.  Hansen  and  Mr.  David  of  Wagner 
and  Levien  and  three  leading  physicians  asked  me  to 
give  the  series  of  Beethoven  sonatas  for  the  piano  and 
violin  in  five  seances,  ten  sonatas  of  Beethoven  and  five 
others  by  Mozart,  Schumann,  Brahms,  Grieg  and  Rubin- 
stein, three  sonatas  at  each  session,  Messrs.  Wagner  and 
Levien  to  attend  to  the  business  of  selling  the  tickets  and 
would  allow  me  to  pay  for  nothing.  The  programs  fol- 
low; 


202  MY  MEMORIES 

Edward  Scharf,  Pianist. 

First  Chamber  Concert,  i,  Sonata  No.  i,  Beethoven; 
2,  Sonata  in  A  Minor,  Rubinstein;  3,  Sonata  No.  2,  Bee- 
thoven. 

Second  Program,  i,  Sonata  No.  3,  Beethoven;  2, 
Grand  Sonata  in  A,  Schumann;  3,  Sonata  No.  4,  Bee- 
thoven. 

Third  Program,  i,  Sonata  No.  5,  Beethoven;  2,  So- 
nata in  F,  Grieg;  3,  Sonata  No.  6,  Beethoven. 

Fourth  Program,  i,  Sonata  No.  7,  Beethoven;  2, 
Sonata  in  A  Major,  Mozart;  3,  Sonata  No.  8,  Beethoven. 

Fifth  Program,  i,  Sonata  No.  10,  Beethoven;  2, 
Sonata  in  D  Minor,  Brahms;  3,  Sonata  No.  9,  Beethoven. 

We  reversed  the  order  of  the  9th  and  loth  sonatas  in 
the  last  program  in  order  to  give  the  celebrated  Kreutzer 
Sonata  No.  9,  the  last  thing  on  the  program  instead  of 
No.  10,  which  belongs  to  Beethoven's  third  and  last  man- 
ner in  which  he  discarded  the  regular  rules  of  composi- 
tion. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  which  I  have  noticed  in  my  experi- 
ences with  people  of  different  professions  that  in  music 
it  is  the  medical  profession  which  is  most  susceptible  to 
its  influence.  In  amateur  musical  organizations  physi- 
cians predominate.  I  have  met  many  who  had  not  only 
the  taste  for  music  but  who  could  play  an  instrument  or 
sing  or  do  both.  I  have  met  very  few  lawyers  who  were 
musical  and  still  fewer  engineers,  mechanical,  electrical 
or  civil.  As  an  illustration,  in  the  orchestra  "  Society 
Royal  des  Amateurs,"  which  I  conducted  for  several 
seasons  at  Liege,  there  were  always  half  a  dozen  physi- 
cians among  the  players.     Some  were  violinists,  others 


MEXICO  203 

cellists  and  they  were  good  ones,  too.  The  saying  that 
"  Industry  and  the  Arts  are  not  sisters  "  I  have  found  to 
be  quite  generally  true.  M.  Hansen,  the  Russian  Min- 
ister to  Mexico,  as  I  remarked  before,  was  a  magnificent 
pianist  and  thorough  musician,  not  a  vestige  of  the  ama- 
teur about  his  playing.  He  could  read  the  most  difficult 
music  at  sight  like  an  artist. 

Besides  the  series  of  Chamber  Concerts  which  we  gave 
together,  he  arranged  some  musicals  in  his  beautiful 
apartments,  and  it  was  there  I  met  Madame  Bazaine, 
wife  of  the  French  Marshal.  She  was  a  beautiful  woman 
of  the  Spanish  type  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
her  husband  had  been  pronounced  a  traitor,  she  was  re- 
ceived in  the  best  society,  but  the  mansion  of  the  former 
General  Bazaine  has  never  been  occupied  since  he  left  it, 
as  the  people  are  superstitious  about  occupying  the  house 
of  a  traitor. 

In  all  my  artistic  career,  I  must  say  that  I  never  met 
anywhere  so  many  genuine  lovers  of  music  and  real  con- 
noisseurs as  in  the  society  of  Mexico  City,  and  my  second 
visit  will  always  remain  in  my  memory  like  a  beautiful 
dre-am.  There  music  and  the  artist  were  placed  on  a 
plane  way  above  commercialism  and  the  taint  of  the 
"  passing  show."  To  think  that  five  chamber  concerts, 
three  concerts  with  the  orchestra,  four  miscellaneous  con- 
certs in  which  were  given  many  numbers  from  the  old 
classic  masters,  besides  musical  evenings  of  classical  mu- 
sic to  large  numbers  of  invited  guests,  all  in  the  short 
space  of  less  than  four  weeks,  is  something  entirely  un- 
usual, every  one  will  admit.  I  found,  on  investigating 
the  cause  for  the  musical  taste  of  Mexican  society,  that  it 


204  MY  MEMORIES 

was  due  not  alone  to  a  natural  faculty  for  music,  but  very 
largely  to  governmental  protection  and  encouragement 
of  the  Art. 

The  National  Conservatory  of  Music  in  the  Capital 
of  Mexico  is  the  best  pecuniarily  endowed  institution  of 
any  conservatory  in  the  world.  The  great  National 
Theater  in  Mexico  City  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  10,000,- 
000  pesos.  It  is  built  of  white  marble  and  polished 
granite  and  for  splendor  of  decoration  and  architectural 
perfection,  it  cannot  be  excelled  anywhere  except  by  the 
Grand  Opera  in  Paris,  which  leads  the  world.  Way 
back  in  1854,  grand  opera  was  being  given  in  Mexico 
City  with  such  artists  as  Henrietta  Sontag,  conducted 
by  a  Spaniard,  James  Nuno,  who  had  been  conducting 
Italian  grand  opera  in  New  York  City  in  its  greatest  days 
with  Sontag  and  Grisi  as  prima  donnas  at  the  Academy 
of  Music  in  14th  Street.  Nuno  was  a  great  musician 
and  had  composed  operas  himself.  He  could  play  al- 
most any  instrument  in  the  orchestra  and  wrote  many 
beautiful  songs,  etc.  While  in  Mexico,  at  the  time  I 
mention,  he  was  requested  by  the  Government  to  write 
a  triumphal  march  which  is  known  to-day  and  always 
played  in  Mexico  as  their  National  Hymn.  This  season 
of  Italian  opera  in  Mexico  was  broken  up  by  the  death  of 
Sontag,  who  was  thought  to  have  been  poisoned,  and 
Nuno  came  back  to  New  York  and  eventually  settled  in 
Buffalo.  He  was  succeeded  as  conductor  of  Italian 
opera  in  New  York  by  Max  Maretzek,  a  German.  Sig- 
nor  Nuno  became  a  celebrated  vocal  teacher.  During  the 
time  he  was  at  the  head  of  Italian  opera  in  New  York, 
many  Italian  singers  were  engaged  who  eventually  set- 


^\-^\^0  NAC/Oyj,^^ 


A^ 


1  '      '>     //«' 


^t^oZ.  J^.yr    /y^^.         PROPIEDAD  ASEG.URADA. 


MEXICO  ^05 

tied  in  New  York  as  singing  teachers,  among  them 
Eranni,  Murio  Celli,  Agramonte,  Capianni  and  others, 
who  must  have  known  Nuno.  He  was  also  a  fine  pianist 
and  it  was  an  inspiration  to  sing  with  him.  Signor  Nuno 
died  July  17,  1908,  in  Buffalo,  New  York,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four  and  the  Mexican  Consul  asked,  on  behalf 
of  the  Federal  Government,  that  his  remains  might  be 
placed  in  the  Cathedral  beside  Bo'canegra,  but  as  he  had 
been  laid  in  the  ground,  it  could  not  be  done  on  account 
of  a  health  law  which  requires  that  seven  years  pass  be- 
fore a  body  may  be  removed.  But  this  will  probably 
be  done  when  Mexico  is  once  more  normal. 

We  left  the  City  of  Mexieo  at  the  end  of  the  month 
of  March,  1896,  for  Puebla,  where  we  gave  three  con- 
certs in  three  days,  Friday,  Saturday  and  Sunday.  This 
w'as  my  second  visit  to  Puebla  and  I  had  already  several 
good  friends  there.  Puebla  has  about  130,000  inhab- 
itants and,  like  Brooklyn,  New  York,  is  called  the  "  City 
of  Churches."  In  former  times  it  was  known  as  "  Puebla 
de  los  Angeles"  (City  of  the  Angels).  It  is  only  one 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  miles  south  of  Mexico  City, 
but  it  takes  about  six  hours  by  train  to  reach  it.  Puebla 
is  enshrined  in  the  heart  of  every  patriotic  Mexican,  for 
it  was  there  that  General  Zaragoza  on  the  5th  of  May, 
1862,  defeated  the  French  army  which  ultimately  resulted 
in  the  establishment  of  the  Mexican  Republic.  The  in- 
spiring words  "  Cinco  de  Mayo,"  for  Mexicans,  finds  an 
echo  back  in  1776,  on  the  4th  of  July,  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  The  fifth  of  May  is  annually  set  aside 
by  the  Mexicans  for  national  celebration. 


2o6  MY  MEMORIES 

Having  digressed,  caused  by  the  Cinco  de  Mayo,  we 
now  returned  to  Puebla  and  its  memorable  celebration,  al- 
most every  town  in  Mexico  keeping  the  date  in  com- 
memoration by  naming  one  of  its  streets  after  it.  I  was 
booked  as  far  as  Vera  Cruz,  but  hearing  that  yeljow  fever 
was  there  and  remembering  my  former  terrible  experi- 
ence after  Tampico,  I  was  afraid  of  another  mishap  to 
my  health  and  so  I  gave  up  Vera  Cruz,  and  went  as  far  as 
Cordoba,  the  last  town  before  Santa  Cruz,  lying  2,500 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  and  renowned  for  its  fruits 
and  flowers,  as  well  as  for  its  fine  coffee,  of  which  there 
are  many  plantations  in  the  vicinity. 

In  Cordoba,  we  gave  one  concert,  thence  to  Orizaba, 
situated  in  the  mountains  about  four  thousand  feet  above 
the  sea.  The  scenery  is  wonderfully  beautiful  and  it  is 
a  great  health  resort  for  Mexicans  who,  during  the  season 
of  yellow  fever  in  the  pestilential  coast  cities,  take  refuge 
there.  We  gave  two  concerts  here,  both  being  very  well 
attended,  and  then  started  back  on  our  way  north  by  the 
broad  gauge  railroad  towards  El  Paso,  giving  concerts  in 
all  the  principal  towns,  arrangements  having  been  made 
in  advance. 

My  time  was  limited  as  I  had  to  take  a  boat  at  San 
Francisco  on  the  nth  of  May  for  a  second  trip  to  the 
Antipodes.  Our  first  stop  was  at  Guanahouato,  called 
the  Silver  City,  on  account  of  extensive  silver  mines 
about  there.  The  catacombs  of  Guanahouato  are  one 
of  the  sights  of  this  place.  The  catacomb  is  merely  a 
large  vault  under  the  cemetery  where  bodies  previously 
buried,  which  have  mummified  under  peculiar  action  of 
the  soil  and  air,  are  wrapped  in  linen,  and  stand  up  i:i 


MEXICO  207 

rows  about  the  walls.  The  question  seems  to  be  what 
to  do  with  the  bones  of  the  dead,  for  graves  in  general 
are  only  leased  for  a  term  of  years  and  at  the  termination 
of  the  lease,  they  are  removed  from  the  graves  and  the 
bones  piled  up  in  vaults.  It  is  a  fearful  sight  and  an 
evil  smelling  place.  The  mummies  wore  an  expression 
of  face  they  may  have  had  when  the  person  died.  Some 
had  a  ghastly  grin  and  some  wore  whiskers  as  in  life. 
Decidedly  this  was  a  vision  one  would  do  well  to  forget 
as  soon  as  possible. 

To  go  from  Mexico  City  to  Guanahouato,  we  had  to 
pass  through  Queretaro,  where  occurred  the  lamentable 
death  of  the  Emperor  Maximilian  and  his  two  generals, 
Miramon  and  Mejia,  who  were  shot  by  decree  of  Presi- 
dent Juarez.  I  visited  the  very  spot  where  the  execution 
took  place.  Juarez  had  captured  Queretaro,  where  Maxi- 
milian and  his  followers  had  made  a  last  stand,  and  they 
were  tried  by  courtmartial  and  condemned  to  death  in 
spite  of  a  protest  on  the  part  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  and  the  efforts  of  Maximilian's  Empress, 
Carlotta,  who  had  gone  to  France  to  implore  Napoleon 
III  to  send  another  army  to  Maximilian's  aid.  She  also 
pleaded  with  the  Pope  without  success.  Her  anguish 
of  mind  and  grief  at  Maximilian's  death  shattered  her 
health  and  her  mind  gave  way.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
pitiful  stories  in  modern  history. 

Maximilian  was  the  brother-in-law  of  Leopold  II  of 
Belgium,  Carlotta  being  the  sister  of  Leopold  II.  The 
question  is  why  did  not  Napoleon  III,  who  suggested 
Maximilian  as  Emperor,  and  the  latter  having  accepted 
on  the  condition  that  Napoleon  should  give  him  military 


2o8  MY  MEMORIES 

aid  as  long  as  it  should  be  necessary  —  why,  I  should  like 
to  ask  —  was  he  left  alone  and  the  French  army  with- 
drawn? Maximilian  was  under  the  evil  influence  of 
Marshal  Bazaine  and  made  the  mistake  of  undertaking 
things  which  he  was  not  strong  enough  to  carry  out,  and 
what  a  great  pity  it  was  that  he  did  not  retire  from 
Mexico  when  Napoleon  recalled  the  French  troops.  A 
sad,  sad  story  in  which  all  parties  had  to  suffer. 

After  this,  we  went  on  to  Leon  where  we  had  the  sur- 
prise of  our  lives.  Think  of  a  town  of  a  hundred  thou- 
sand inhabitants  without  a  newspaper!  Such  was  Leon. 
Any  town  in  the  United  States  of  less  than  five  thousand 
would  have  at  least  two  newspapers,  but  here  there  were 
none,  except  such  as  came  in  from  Mexico  City.  But  we 
managed  to  give  two  concerts  in  Leon  with  a  large  at- 
tendance. Leon  is  said  to  be  the  birthplace  of  the  cele- 
brated matador,  Alfonzo  Nagoa.  Irapuato  came  next 
and  to  us  this  name  has  instantly  been  associated  with 
strawberries.  Such  berries  —  every  one  large,  luscious, 
perfect  with  their  perfume  and  flavor  such  as  we  had 
never  before  tasted  and  such  quantities  and  so  cheap. 
This  pretty  little  town  is  in  the  center  of  a  rich  farming 
country  and  strawberries  are  plentiful  all  the  year  round. 

In  the  morning  and  in  the  afternoon  Indian  women 
came  to  the  Plazas  and,  seating  themselves  in  the  shade, 
they  spread  out  a  tempting  array  of  baskets  of  the  fruit. 
Other  fruits  are  equally  plentiful  and  many  of  them  de- 
licious. We  gave  a  concert  here,  of  course,  with  good 
financial  success,  for  the  Mexicans  love  music,  and  then 
we  went  on  to  Aguas  Calientes,  so-called  from  its  famous 
hot  springs.     This  town  is  up  in  the  mountains  about  six 


MEXICO  209 

thousand  feet,  is  a  health  resort  and  has  good  hotels  al- 
ways filled  with  people  coming  for  the  baths.  I  did  not 
miss  the  opportunity  of  trying  the  waters  and  enjoyed 
them  immensely.  Here  is  a  great  center  for  the  needle 
work  called  drawn  work,  of  which  my  wife  bought  quite 
a  number  of  pieces  of  fine  work.  It  is  made  by  Indian 
women  and  is  highly  appreciated  by  the  ladies,  but  the 
artistic  industry  is  dying  out  on  account  of  the  Germans, 
who  manufacture  coarse  imitations  of  it  by  machinery 
and  send  it  to  be  sold  there  under  the  very  noses  of  the 
Indian  artists  as  the  real  thing,  and  tourists,  many  of 
them,  are  none  the  wiser. 

I  must  not  forget  to  mention  San  Luis  Potosi.  We 
gave  two  concerts  and  spent  four  delightful  days  there. 
In  Aguas  Calientes  I  visited  the  great  smelting  works 
just  out  of  the  city  at  San  Pedro.  The  whole  place  was 
surrounded  by  high  stone  walls.  Owing  to  the  immense 
amount  of  capital  invested  in  the  mines  and  other 
products,  this  city  is  very  prosperous  and  populous  as 
well.  It  is  a  fine  city,  very  clean  with  wide  streets  and, 
on  the  whole,  is  picturesque  with  its  white  houses,  flower 
gardens,  old  churches  and  the  people  in  native  costumes. 
We  were  now  on  our  way  to  El  Paso,  where  we  were 
booked  for  a  concert  at  Chopin  Hall,  and  the  last  two 
concerts  in  Mexico  would  be  given  in  Zacategas.  These 
were  the  culmination  of  a  most  delightful  tour  which, 
having  begun  badly,  turned  out  to  be  highly  satisfactory 
from  the  financial  as  well  as  artistic  point  of  view. 

In  Zacategas,  which  is  a  wealthy  place,  having  an  im- 
mense income  from  the  silver  mines,  I  made  many  friends 
whom  I  shall  never  forget  and  I  hope  they  will  not  for- 


2IO  MY  MEMORIES 

get  me  either,  for  some  day  I  expect  to  revisit  Mexico. 
In  certain  respects,  it  is  a  Paradise  if  one  keeps  away 
from  the  coasts,  and  a  marvelous  country  where  Nature 
perpetually  smiles  with  very  little  coaxing.  The  people 
are  charming,  artistic  and  great  lovers  of  music.  Let 
us  hope  that  soon  there  will  be  an  end  to  all  political  dis- 
turbances there  and  the  people  be  left  in  peace  to  cultivate 
the  wonderful  natural  resources  of  the  country  where 
there  is  enough  for  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  world. 
One  word  as  to  the  Indians.  There  is  a  very  strong 
Mongoloid  strain  in  some  of  the  tribes  and  in  one  of  the 
ruins  there  was  the  ubiquitous  Chinaman  with  his  queue, 
sculptured  on  one  of  the  bas  reliefs,  nearly  obliterated 
by  age,  however,  for  the  ruins  are  thousands  of  years 
old.  There  was  a  strong  association  in  my  mind  with 
the  hoary  ruins  of  Mexico  and  those  of  Baraboedoer  in 
Java. 

Mexico  is  wonderful ! 


CHAPTER  XV 

JAPAN 

Of  course  we  were  highly  excited  at  the  prospect  of 
seeing  Japan,  and  although  it  was  midwinter  at  the  time 
of  our  visit,  we  were  not  discommoded  by  disagreeably 
cold  weather.  The  climate  was  rather  mild  and  some- 
what misty,  for  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  Fujiyama,  that 
wonderful  volcano,  only  twice.  We  missed  the  season  of 
the  cherry  blossoms  on  the  trees;  but  these  flowers  were 
to  be  found  in  every  home  and  shop. 

One's  first  impression  of  Japanese  cities  is  that  of  or- 
der and  cleanliness.  Then  the  neat  little  houses  and 
shops.  These  shops  were  different  from  anything  I  had 
seen  in  my  travels  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Small,  com- 
pact, neat, —  order  carried  systematically  to  the  highest 
plane  of  development,  combined  with  artistic  arrange- 
ment. Love  of  the  beautiful  and  wonderful  in  nature 
is  characteristic  of  the  Japanese,  even  in  the  shops.  On 
the  counter  your  attention  will  be  attracted  by  a  wonder- 
ful miniature  garden,  full  grown  trees  an  inch  high,  a 
diminutive  cherry  tree  full  of  minute  blossoms,  or  farther 
along,  in  a  space  two  or  three  feet  long  by  one  or  more 
wide,  cut  out  of  the  floor,  you  will  see  a  wonderful 
landscape ;  mountains,  hills,  fields,  rivers,  lakes,  trees  and 
verdure,  and  flowers;  all  real,  living  and  growing,  but 
dwarfed  from  what  would  cover  many  miles  in  extent, 

211 


212  MY  MEMORIES 

to  a  matter  of  inches;  one  is  transfixed  with  astonishment 
and  admiration. 

The  houses  have  nothing  of  what  we  call  furniture 
about.  It  seems  as  if  the  Japanese  had  reduced  the  proc- 
ess of  living  to  the  scientific  system  of  having  everything 
essential,  and  the  elimination  of  everything  non-essen- 
tial. The  home  is  a  place  for  repose,  restful  for  the  eye 
as  well  as  the  mind.  When  one  has  felt  the  relaxation 
and  relief  of  an  interior  after  Japanese  ideas,  it  is  dis- 
tracting and  nerve-racking  to  encounter,  as  in  American 
and  European  homes,  quantities  of  furniture,  bric-a-brac, 
pictures  and  what  not ;  every  item  of  which  must,  although 
subconciously,  arrest  attention,  tax  the  sense  of  sight, 
and  fatigue  the  mind.  Then  there  is  the  impression  of 
quiet  decorum,  politeness  and  peace,  except  for  frequent 
disturbances  in  the  form  of  earthquakes,  to  which  for- 
eigners cannot  accustom  themselves,  and  I  must  say  they 
are  very  trying  to  one's  nerves. 

We  disembarked  at  Yokohama,  and  found  excellent 
accommodations  at  the  Club  Hotel,  managed  by  a  Bel- 
gian, with  Japanese  service.  A  unique  arrangement  here 
was  that  when  you  registered  at  the  Club  you  were  also 
registered  at  a  hotel  in  Tokio.  At  so  much  per  week 
you  could  have  your  breakfast  in  Yokohama  at  the  Club 
Hotel  and  your  dinner  at  the  one  in  Tokio,  and  vice  versa, 
all  for  the  same  price.  We  were  naturally  very  tired  after 
a  voyage  of  thirteen  days  from  Honolulu,  and  were  sur- 
prised in  the  morning  to  hear  that  a  violent  earthquake 
had  occurred,  which  had  lifted  our  hotel  several  feet  in 
the  air,  setting  it  down  again,  piff,  paff,  precisely  intact. 
The  rumbling  noise  did  not  awaken  us,  and  if  we  felt 


JAPAN  213 

the  motion  we  no  doubt  dreamily  attributed  it  to  the 
rolling  waves  of  the  Pacific;  but  every  one  else  was  labor- 
ing under  the  after-effects  of  the  exciting  experience 
when  we  met  at  breakfast. 

We  had  barely  arrived  at  the  Club  Hotel  when  an  in- 
terviewer from  the  "  Box  of  Curios  "  sent  up  his  card 
and  demanded, 

"  Are  you  the  Musin  who  wrote  Musin's  Mazurka?  " 

I  was  astonished  to  find  my  first  composition  had  gotten 
as  far  as  Japan,  and,  my  identity  being  established,  the 
interviewer  w^axed  in  interest,  and  from  that  time  on 
the  "  Box  of  Curios  "  spared  no  effort  in  making  known 
the  arrival  of  our  concert  company.  The  hall  was  en- 
gaged and  all  the  preliminary  arrangements  made  in 
short  order,  and  we  found  that  we  would  have  no  com- 
petitors in  the  field,  due  to  the  rarity  with  which  artistic 
attractions  visit  countries  at  such  a  distance  as  Japan. 

My  second  visitor  was  the  Chevalier  de  Wapenhard, 
Belgian  consul  at  Yokohama,  a  charming  gentleman,  who 
escorted  me  to  the  different  legations  in  Tokio,  where  I 
left  my  cards.  The  Chevalier  also  immediately  issued 
invitations  to  a  dinner  for  us,  at  his  artistic  residence  in 
Yokohama,  with  a  reception  to  follow  the  dinner.  It 
was  an  exquisite  affair;  the  menu  European,  with  choice 
wines,  as  a  matter  of  course.  One  lady  besides  my  wife 
was  present,  and  the  gentlemen  were  titled  diplomats  rep- 
resenting the  French,  Russian,  Austrian  and  Italian  gov- 
ernments. After  dinner  the  American  Consul  arrived 
with  his  family,  and  many  other  guests.  We  had  a  royal 
time  and  a  charming  introduction  to  the  social  life  out 
there  in  Japan,  where  it  is  the  custom  for  each  and  every 


214  MY  MEMORIES 

guest  to  do  his  or  her  part  in  contributing  to  the  enter- 
tainment by  "  singing  a  song,"  "  telHng  a  story "  or 
"  speaking  a  piece,"  according  to  their  talents  or  accom- 
plishments. My  wife  was  surprised,  when  we  talked  it 
over  afterwards,  to  find  that  in  such  an  assemblage  of 
titles,  there  had  existed  such  good  fellowship  without 
pretense  or  ostentation,  and  that  she  had  been  escorted  to 
dinner  by  a  Russian  prince,  whose  wife,  the  only  other 
lady  at  dinner,  was  a  Grecian  princess. 

Lobanoff  de  Rostofif  and  the  princess  were  amateurs 
of  music,  and  at  their  house  we  passed  some  very  pleasant 
hours.  An  incident  which  shows  how  relatively  small 
this  world  is,  after  all,  occurred  some  years  after  our  visit 
to  Japan,  when  on  going  to  Spa  to  play  at  a  festival  at  the 
Salle  des  Fetes,  a  hand  was  waved  above  the  crowd  and  a 
voice  called  out  "  Musin,  Musin!"  and  who  should  ap- 
pear but  these  same  friends  of  ours.  One  day  on  a 
Broadway  car  in  New  York  a  gentleman  stepped  up  to  me 
and  said :  — "  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Musin  ?  I  had  tht 
pleasure  of  hearing  you  play  way  out  in  Singapore  and 
felt  that  I  must  shake  hands  with  you."  Such  encoun- 
ters are  very  pleasant  and  by  no  means  rare  occurrences  to 
artists  who  have  traveled  far;  but  the  most  amusing  inci- 
dent of  the  kind  occurred  when  I  was  out  in  Java.  I  met 
a  gentleman  who  said :  — "  Mr.  Musin,  I  heard  your 
father  play  in  Amsterdam  several  times,  many  years  ago." 
"  But,"  said  I,  "  my  father  was  never  a  violinist !  It  was 
I  whom  you  heard."  His  astonishment  might  have  been 
attributed  either  to  the  early  age  at  which  I  began  my 
career,  or  might  I  attribute  it  as  flattering  my  still  youth- 
ful appearance?     At  any  rate  this  little  incident  helped 


JAPAN  215 

to  fill  our  concert  hall,  as  the  gentleman  related  his  mistake 
to  people  he  happened  to  meet, —  but  to  return  to  Japan. 

The  cards  which  I  had  left  for  the  dignitaries  at  the 
different  legations  brought  theirs  in  return  to  my  hotel, 
and  soon  the  concerts  and  social  affairs  were  in  full  swing 
in  Yokohama  and  Tokio. 

Baron  d'Anethan,  Belgian  ambassador  at  the  capital, 
notified  me  that  by  order  of  his  Majesty,  the  Mikado,  we 
were  to  appear  at  the  Royal  Palace  at  a  certain  hour  of 
an  afternoon.  It  may  interest  my  lady  readers  to  know 
that  Mrs.  Musin  ordered  a  new  gown  in  honor  of  the  oc- 
casion, the  material  of  which  was  white  Japanese  silk 
crepe,  artistically  embroidered  with  ivy  leaves  and  the 
blossoms  of  a  flower  resembling  the  daisy.  This  material, 
which  was  very  expensive,  was  made  up  into  a  dress, 
a  copy  of  one  of  her  Paris  gowns,  by  a  Chinese  man  dress- 
maker in  twenty-four  hours,  without  a  fitting.  The  fact 
is  that  the  Chinese  are  so  expert  that  when  given  a  model 
they  copy  it  exactly,  to  the  smallest  detail  (including  the 
holes,  it  is  said).  At  any  rate  the  dress  was  a  great  suc- 
cess, but  we  found  out  afterwards  that  my  wife,  by 
choosing  white,  had  clothed  herself  in  mourning,  accord- 
ing to  the  Japanese  custom,  which  came  from  ignorance 
on  our  part.  However,  there  was  a  mantle  worn  over 
it  of  white  brocade,  lined  with  rose,  which  relieved  our 
minds  somewhat.  We  arrived  at  the  hotel  in  Tokio  and 
were  notified  that  the  carriage  of  the  Mikado  would  come 
for  us,  in  which  we  would  be  escorted  to  the  Palace  by 
an  official  of  the  Court. 

On  the  way  our  attention  w^as  attracted  to  passers-by 
who,  on  seeing  the  carriage,  suddenly  dropped  on  their 


2i6  MY  MEMORIES 

knees.  What  could  that  mean?  Could  it  be  an  honor 
paid  to  the  itinerant  musicians  inside?  On  arriving  at 
the  entrance  to  the  P'alace,  the  doors  were  opened,  and 
we  were  ushered  into  a  long  and  lofty  hall,  on  either  side 
of  which  were  lines  of  lackeys  or  footmen,  clothed  in 
red  coats,  white  satin  knee  breeches,  and  white  stockings 
(standing  about  12  feet  apart),  who  saluted  profoundly, 
one  after  the  other,  as  we  passed  through  to  a  reception 
salon  beyond.  These  men  were  very  tall,  handsome 
Japanese  people  and,  by  the  way,  one  of  our  first  impres- 
sions of  the  Japanese  was  that  they  were  by  no  means 
the  "  little  people  "  in  stature  which  we  had  expected  to 
see,  from  common  report.  In  the  reception  room  there 
were  a  few  pieces  of  furniture  of  exquisite  workmanship, 
the  ceiling  and  walls  paneled  with  marvelous  brocades  or 
embroidered  silks,  the  draperies  of  the  windows  being 
equally  rich.  The  general  tone  was  subdued,  not  gaudy, 
and  artistically  perfect.  We  waited  there  for  a  time  until 
the  Master  of  Ceremonies  came  to  conduct  us  to  the 
Grand  Salon.  This  was  a  neat  room,  well  lighted  and 
remarkable  principally  for  the  ornamental  woodwork  of 
walls  and  ceiling.  An  immense  dark  blue  vase  was  on 
our  right  as  we  entered,  and  on  our  left  a  Steinway  Grand 
Piano,  the  case  of  which  was  elaborately  decorated  —  a 
Steinway  master-piece.  The  ladies  of  the  court  were 
seated  on  one  side  of  the  room  and  the  gentlemen  stood 
on  the  other  side,  a  hundred  perhaps  in  all.  A  golden 
chair  placed  somewhat  back  of  the  center  of  the  room 
awaited  the  Empress,  and  when  their  Majesties  appeared 
the  company  made  obeisance,  and  the  Master  of  Cere- 
monies advanced  and  requested  us  to  begin.     Our  pianist 


JAPAN  217 

played  first  and  did  full  justice  to  the  Steinway  Grand, 
but  silence  was  his  reward.  If  my  violin  awoke  a  re- 
sponsive chord  in  the  breast  of  their  Majesties,  no  signal 
was  given  for  applause,  and  neither  to  the  singing  of  my 
wife,  who  warbled  away  like  a  bird  notwithstanding  the 
icy  atmosphere.  This  chilly  atmosphere  was  due  to 
court  etiquette,  and  we  were  requested  to  give  several 
more  selections,  which  proved  that  they  were  interested 
at  any  rate.  The  Master  of  Ceremonies  thereupon  came 
and  escorted  us  one  after  the  other  to  a  certain  distance 
from  their  Majesties  where  we  salaamed  profoundly  and 
repeatedly  as  we  retired  walking  backward  to  our  place. 
On  glancing  up  while  arising  from  our  last  salutation,  we 
saw  the  golden  chair  was  vacant.  Their  Majesties  had 
disappeared. 

The  ice  broke  with  a  crash,  a  babbling  of  voices  arose 
and  we  were  surrounded  by  charming  ladies  clothed  in 
beautiful  dresses  of  a  mode  at  least  ten  years  earlier,  and 
the  gentlemen  in  regulation  afternoon  costume,  all  speak- 
ing French  or  English,  or  both,  with  ease.  All  doubt  as 
to  their  interest  and  pleasure  at  our  music  was  dispersed ; 
and  we  were  ushered  to  an  adjoining  salon  where  a  col- 
lation of  delicious  food  and  rare  wines  and  tea  was 
served  with  bountiful  hospitality.  This  unique  and  de- 
lightful experience  was  capped  by  a  present  from  the 
Mikado,  presented  to  me  through  the  Master  of  Cere- 
monies, a  package  done  up  in  Royal  Vellum  and  sealed 
with  the  Royal  Seal  which,  when  opened  later,  I  found  to 
contain  a  goodly  number  of  Japanese  bank  notes. 

The  money  was  spent;  but  we  kept  the  vellum  as  a 
preciQUs  souvenir.     The  Baron  and  .Baroness  d'Anethan 


2i8  MY  MEMORIES 

took  us  home  with  them  to  dinner  and  this  was  followed 
by  a  charming  reception. 

In  a  day  or  so  Lord  Sutton,  the  British  Ambassador, 
invited  us  to  another  grand  reception  at  his  place,  and 
so  it  went,  round  after  round  of  delightful  entertainment. 
We  shall  never  forget  the  many  friends  who  gave  us  such 
good  times  in  Japan.  At  another  dinner  and  reception 
given  us  by  Vicomte  de  Labry,  French  Attache  Mili- 
taire  to  the  Crown  Prince  (the  present  Mikado),  sev- 
eral princesses  and  others  of  the  Japanese  nobility, 
distinguished  generals,  etc.,  were  present.  While  stay- 
ing that  night  as  guests  we  were  awakened  by  a  terrible 
noise,  comparable  only  to  the  roar  and  clatter  of  several 
express  trains  at  once,  approaching  and  rushing  over  an 
iron  bridge,  with  characteristic  crescendo  and  diminuendo. 
The  floor  of  our  room  rose  and  fell  in  waves  so  that  as 
we  jumped  from  bed  it  was  almost  impossible  to  keep 
one's  feet. 

"  An  earthquake !  "  we  exclaimed,  and  it  surely  was 
*  some  '  quake.  Everything  was  serene  in  the  morning, 
however,  and  the  people  were  calmly  at  work  as  though 
nothing  had  happened. 

We  gave  concerts  in  several  other  places  in  Japan,  and 
then  went  to  Shanghai  by  boat,  stopping  long  enough  in 
the  harbor  of  Nagasaki  to  give  a  concert  which  was  well 
attended  by  foreign  residents  and  the  officers  from  the 
men-of-war  of  different  nationalities  gathered  in  the 
harbor,  including  many  from  the  American  Asiatic  squad- 
ron. We  dressed  for  the  concert  in  our  cabins  aboard 
ship,  descending  the  ladder  to  crawl,  nearly  on  all  fours, 
under  the  hood  of  the  small  boats  called  sampans,  to  be 


JAPAN  219 

paddled  ashore ;  from  that  into  jinrikshas,  pulled  by 
one  Japanese  runner  and  pushed  from  the  rear  by  an- 
other, and  we  quickly  arrived  at  the  hall.  The  ship,  a  fine 
one  of  the  Japanese  line,  was  not  to  leave  for  Shanghai 
until  the  next  afternoon,  and  this  permitted  us  to  see 
Nagasaki  in  the  morning. 

While  the  town,  the  harbor,  filled  with  men-of-war  of 
all  types  and  nationalities,  the  view  of  the  coast,  were 
highly  picturesque,  the  things  which  claimed  our  closest 
attention  were  the  shops  where  the  gorgeous  display  of 
art,  in  bronze,  ivory,  jade,  silver,  gold,  cloisonne,  lacquer, 
silks  and  embroideries  and  paintings  done  with  silks  and 
pigments,  was  in  such  profusion  and  transcendental 
beauty,  impossible  to  describe,  that  we  could  tear  ourselves 
away  only  with  great  difficulty.  Marvelous  artists,  the 
Japanese ;  no  one  who  has  not  visited  the  shops  in  Naga- 
saki can  form  a  conception  of  the  almost  overpowering 
beauty  and  richness  of  the  display.  The  shops,  here  as 
elsewhere  in  Japan,  are  not  large,  nor  are  they  built  in  the 
style  of  department  stores ;  but  the  artistic  grouping  and 
sequence  in  material,  color  and  form,  leads  one  on  fairly 
hypnotized.  And  then  the  difficulty  in  making  a  choice ! 
—  better  by  far  to  carry  the  whole  establishment  away 
with  us.  But  time  and  tide  wait  for  no  man,  nor  woman 
either;  and  promising  ourselves  to  return  sometime,  some- 
how, we  made  a  plunge  for  the  sampan  and  were  paddled 
back  to  the  ship. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SHANGHAI 

The  night  before,  while  asleep  in  her  cabin,  my  wife 
had  a  prophetic  dream.  In  the  dream  she  was  lying  in 
the  lower  berth  of  this  identical  cabin,  which  was  on  the 
upper  promenade  deck,  was  commodious  and  comfort- 
able; our  steamer  trunks  and  valises  arranged  as  they 
were  in  reality,  about  the  room  —  when  the  vessel  seemed 
to  roll  heavily  to  one  side.  She  could  hear  the  waves 
strike  the  ship,  the  waters  apparently  dashing  over  the 
decks,  slapping  against  the  door.  After  a  little  the  ship 
rolled  so  far  over  that  water  soused  in  under  the  door, 
and  rushing  with  a  hissing  sound  over  the  carpet,  rose  so 
high,  that  the  baggage  began  floating  about.  How  it 
came  out  Mrs.  Musin  does  not  recall;  but  in  the  follow- 
ing experience  the  dream  storm  became  a  reality.  We 
left  Nagasaki  in  the  afternoon,  steaming  calmly  out  along 
the  picturesque  coast,  the  sun  shining  brightly  and  agree- 
ably warm  from  toward  the  west.  As  we  got  farther  out 
from  land  we  saw  small  sailing  vessels,  with  very  high 
round  prows,  rising  and  falling,  turned  this  way  and 
that  by  a  choppy  sea.  Their  shape  enabled  such  very 
small  boats  to  go  far  out  to  sea  without  danger.  We  sup- 
posed the  wind  would  go  down  by  sunset ;  but  on  the  con- 
trary it  grew  stronger  and  the  waters  more  troubled, 
until  those  inclined  to  be  ill  discreetly  sought  their  cabins, 
and  at  last  the  captain  and  I  were  the  only  ones  left  in 

220 


SHANGHAI  221 

the  smoking  room  on  deck.  We  had  about  three  days 
and  nights  of  rolHng  and  tossing  on  the  Yellow  Sea,  be- 
fore we  reached  Shanghai  —  heavy  seas  breaking  over 
the  ship  and  flooding  the  cabin  and  floating  the  baggage 
about.  The  Japanese  stewardesses  and  stewards  won  our 
gratitude  for  tactful,  indefatigable  attentions.  The  cap- 
tain brought  Mrs.  Musin  around  from  her  sea-sickness  by 
giving  me  a  few  drops  of  very  old  brandy  with  which 
he  told  me  to  moisten  her  lips.  This  seemed  to  rally  her 
forces,  so  that  we  were  on  deck  as  we  approached  our  new 
stopping  place. 

In  Shanghai  the  weather  was  still  wintry.  The  China- 
men of  means  were  wearing  rich  furs,  or  silk  coats  lined 
with  fur,  ornamented  with  quantities  of  sable  tails  hang- 
ing from  the  border  in  a  fringe.  They  are  big  men,  some 
of  them  very,  very  tall,  as  high  as  seven  feet,  I  should 
say.  The  coolies  and  runners  for  the  rickshaws,  who  go 
with  their  throats  and  chests  bare,  even  in  winter,  are 
strong  fellows.  The  rickshaws  are  double  the  size  of 
those  in  Japan.  Two  people,  not  too  bulky,  can  ride 
comfortably  in  one,  whereas  in  Japan  each  person  had 
his  own  baby  carriage.  We  gave  a  series  of  concerts 
here.  There  were  a  greater  number  of  foreigners  to  at- 
tend the  concerts,  but  the  Chinamen  were  not  attracted 
as  were  many  Japanese  of  the  cultured  class,  and  Chinese 
women  are  rarely  seen  anywhere. 

Chinese  architecture  is  more  massive  than  Japanese  and 
peculiar  to  itself.  There  are  beautiful  gardens,  tea 
houses,  and  the  interiors  of  private  houses  are  gorgeously 
furnished  and  decorated.  A  strange  new  world  to  us ; 
and  the  people  are  extraordinarily  intelligent ;  but  they  are 


222  MY  MEMORIES 

given  at  times  to  drawing  their  own  conclusions  in  a  way 
quite  disconcerting  when  they  do  not  correctly  interpret 
our  language. 

As  an  instance,  we  started  out  one  morning  to  visit 
the  shops.  On  this  occasion  we  got  into  palanquins  in- 
stead of  rickshaws.  The  strong  young  fellows  who  were 
to  bear  us  nodded  and  smiled  knowingly  at  the  directions 
given,  and  started  at  a  brisk  trot  away  from  the  direc- 
tion in  which  we  supposed  the  shops  to  be;  but,  feeling 
confidence  in  their  knowledge  of  their  own  town,  we  said 
nothing  as  they  trotted  up  one  street  and  down  another, 
until  quite  out  of  breath,  they  deposited  us  in  front  of  a 
door  which  stood  open,  giving  a  view  through  a  corridor 
into  a  garden  at  the  rear.  We  entered,  but  no  one  was 
in  sight,  neither  the  piles  of  silks,  satins  and  beautiful 
grass  linens  we  had  expected  to  see.  A  Chinese  woman 
came  from  a  door  on  the  side,  leading  a  child  whose  nose 
was  half  eaten  away  by  cancer.  Horrified,  we  were 
about  to  leave,  when  a  young  Chinaman  appeared  who 
asked  if  we  wished  the  doctor.  "  The  doctor?  Oh  no! 
We  want  to  do  some  shopping." 

"  But  this  is  a  hospital,"  he  said. 

Our  palanquin  bearers  looked  rather  sheepish  as  the 
young  doctor  explained  where  we  wished  to  be  taken. 
We,  no  doubt,  looked  pale  and  fatigued,  my  wife  at  least, 
after  such  a  terrible  voyage,  and  they,  thinking  that  she 
wished  to  see  a  doctor,  promptly  and  obligingly  took  her 
to  the  hospital. 

From  Shanghai  we  took  a  boat  down  the  coast  to 
Hongkong.  For  a  description  of  this  great  city  and 
that  of  Canton,  it  would  be  better  to  read  a  guide  book; 


SHANGHAI  223 

for  my  impressions  and  observations  were  necessarily 
casual  and  limited  to  a  few  days  filled  with  a  rush  of 
visitors,  entertainments  and  dinners,  besides  our  concerts. 
We  were  suddenly  plunged  into  summer  weather,  and 
light  clothing  became  a  necessity.  Chinese  tailors  pre- 
sented themselves,  took  measurements,  and  in  the  space 
of  a  few  hours  a  dozen  new  suits  of  linen  and  silk  were 
ready  for  me  to  wear!  They  must  be  magicians,  these 
Chinese  tailors!  for  without  the  fatiguing  process  of  try- 
ing on,  cutting  off,  taking  in  or  letting  down ;  without  de- 
lay, there  you  are,  fitted  exactly  and  everything  to  your 
satisfaction,  including  the  price.  What  a  paradise  as  to 
clothes!  Where  would  New  York  tailoring  establish- 
ments be,  were  a  few  such  Chinese  to  establish  themselves 
here,  with  their  scientific  and  economical  system  of 
measurement  and  cutting,  their  energy  and  dispatch,  not 
to  mention  their  skill  with  the  needle.  The  most  intricate 
stitches  in  embroidery  have  no  secrets  for  the  needlemen 
of  China.  Masterpieces  in  screens,  portieres,  panels,"table 
covers,  shawls  and  other  articles  of  dress,  are  the  work 
of  men  who  copy  the  beautiful  in  nature  with  fidelity  to 
form,  perspective,  color  and  shading,  simply  ravishing  to 
behold.  A  wonderful  people!  What  learning  one  must 
needs  possess  to  comprehend  something  of  the  history 
of  their  development  in  past  ages, —  in  religion,  philoso- 
phy, science  and  art,  the  beginning  of  which,  according  to 
Chinese  chronology,  goes  back  a  hundred  thousand  years. 
Of  course  there  will  always  exist  a  degree  of  knowledge 
and  culture  possessed  only  by  the  few  and  as  long  as  the 
world  lasts  all  men  will  never  become  equal. 

No  doubt  the  Chinese  people  in  ancient  times  attained 


224  MY  MEMORIES 

as  near  as  possible  the  ideal  of  universal  peace,  universal 
as  far  as  their  vast  country  was  concerned,  after  ages  of 
development,  by  the  inculcation  of  the  religious  and  moral 
ideas  of  Taoism  and  the  teachings  of  Confucius,  aided 
by  the  practical  measure  of  building  the  great  Wall  to 
keep  out  barbarian  trouble  makers.  It  is  not  to  be 
doubted  that  in  other  countries  the  example  and  teachings 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles  have  gradually  raised  hu- 
manity very  largely  to  a  higher  spiritual  plane  in  the 
aggregate ;  but  when  one  thinks  of  the  vast  ages  of  human 
history  that  have  rolled  slowly  past  and  realizes  that  even 
now  in  the  twentieth  century  mankind  is  still  to  a  large 
extent  dominated  by  the  animal,  in  the  same  old  struggle 
for  existence,  one  can  only  ask  an  explanation  from  the 
psychologist.  It  seems  to  be  a  law  of  nature  that  every 
living  being  born  into  the  world  must  begin,  each  and 
every  one,  at  the  beginning,  and  is  able  to  learn  only  what 
it  is  taught,  physically,  morally,  mentally,  rising  to  a 
certain  degree  of  development,  while  possibly  the  next 
generation  may  swing  down  and  back,  in  the  perpetual 
motion  of  the  wheels  of  time. 

Classes  will  always  exist,  and  in  China  to-day,  in  spite 
of  ages  of  development,  there  are  parts  of  the  country 
where  it  is  dangerous  for  foreigners  to  venture.  Take 
Canton,  for  instance.  We  were  advised  not  to  go  alone 
outside  the  foreign  settlements.  We  saw  thousands  of 
people  living  in  boats  in  the  Canton  river,  by  means  of 
fishing,  where  they  were  packed  together  like  sardines. 

We  went  from  Hongkong  up  to  Canton  in  a  fine  side- 
wheel  steamer.  While  we  were  in  Hongkong  there  was 
an  epidemic  of  bubonic  plague.     An  American  doctor  was 


SHANGHAI  2^5 

there  studying  the  disease.  When  we  took  a  boat  over 
to  Manila  (a  very  small,  uncomfortable  one  too)  after 
a  tiresome  voyage,  we  were  held  up  in  quarantine  for  five 
insufferably  hot  days,  out  in  the  harbor,  on  account  of  the 
plague  in  China.  No  one  had  been  ill,  but  the  crew  were 
Chinese  —  we  were  under  suspicion,  and  not  permitted 
to  land.  It  was  a  very  wearing  experience,  particularly 
as  the  captain  took  that  occasion  to  go  on  a  terrible  spree, 
and  badly  frightened  the  lady  passengers.  He  came  to 
himself,  however,  just  as  we  were  accorded  permission  to 
disembark. 

Manila 

It  was  very  hot  in  the  town  and  there  was  little  com- 
fort to  be  had  and  little  pleasure  either.  The  American 
Consul  at  Barcelona  had  been  killed  and  it  was  reported 
that  we  were  an  American  company.  We  were  advised 
not  to  give  any  concerts  for  fear  of  an  antipathetic  demon- 
stration. We  had  an  occasion  to  see  how  badly  the  people 
could  treat  even  Spanish  artists  at  the  theater  on  the  night 
of  our  arrival.  The  prima  donna  soprano  of  the  Zarzuela 
company  had  not  been  paid  and  she  refused  to  go  on  until 
the  money  was  forthcoming.  The  theater  was  packed 
and  the  people  waited  patiently  for  a  time ;  but  losing  pa- 
tience at  the  delay,  they  began  to  get  angry,  calling  out 
and  stamping  their  feet.  At  last  the  manager  appeared 
before  the  footlights  and  explained  that  the  prima  donna 
refused  to  appear.  Thereupon  the  wildest  sort  of  an 
uproar  followed  which  finally  brought  the  lady  singer  to 
the  stage;  but  at  the  sight  of  her  the  uproar  doubled  in 
violence,  with  hootings,  hissings,   cries  of   "  De   fuera! 


226  MY  MEMORIES 

de  f uera !  "  and  insulting  remarks  flung  at  her  from  all 
quarters.  The  lady  stood  perfectly  still  and  with  bent 
head  took  it  all.  When  the  storm  of  abuse  had  ex- 
hausted itself  the  orchestra  struck  up  and  she  began  her 
part,  and  she  happening  to  be  a  favorite,  they  soon'forgot 
their  anger  and  applauded  her  as  heartily  as  they  had  just 
been  cursing  her  a  few  moments  before.  The  audience 
did  not  propose  to  be  cheated  out  of  their  entertainment, 
irrespective  of  the  rights  or  wrongs  of  the  prima  donna. 

At  any  rate  they  gave  us  an  inkling  as  to  what  that 
public  could  do  if  in  an  ugly  mood  and  we  were  half 
tempted  to  abandon  our  plans,  but  as  our  attraction  would 
appeal  only  to  the  cultured  class  we  decided  to  risk  it. 
We  concocted  a  scheme  of  retaliation,  however,  in  case 
we  were  assailed  by  rotten  eggs  or  the  like.  Nothing  dis- 
agreeable happened,  however,  and  on  the  contrary  we 
found  the  usual  cultured  cosmopolitan  crowd,  polite  and 
enthusiastic.  Those  of  us  who  had  first  to  face  the  au- 
dience had  no  idea,  of  course,  as  to  what  sort  of  greeting 
they  would  receive,  and  to  tell  the  truth  we  were  a  little 
disappointed,  for  our  blood  was  up  for  a  fight;  and  my 
wife  was  especially  so,  for  she  had  placed  a  small  Ameri- 
can flag  in  the  front  of  her  dress  and  had  learned  a  little 
speech  in  Spanish  which  she  intended  to  hurl  at  the  roughs, 
while  waving  the  flag  under  their  noses,  if  they  dared  to 
insult  her  country. 

Affairs  being  in  such  an  unsettled  state  in  Manila  we 
decided  to  hasten  our  departure.  Three  or  four  things 
impressed  me  at  that  time,  first  the  insignificance  of  the 
Spanish  men-of-war  in  the  harbor  (the  units  of  the 
squadrons  of  other  nations  being  busy  at  the  time  watch- 


SHANGHAI 


227 


ing  one  another  like  cats  over  in  the  harbor  of  Nagasaki)  ; 
second,  the  heat ;  third,  the  native  women,  walking  along 
smoking  immense  black  cigars ;  and  fourth,  the  cigars.  I 
received  presents  of  choice  manilas  in  boxes  by  the  hun- 
dreds.    A  veritable  cargo  we  took  away  with  us. 

The  trip  over  to  Singapore  was  necessarily  on  a  small 
dirty  boat,  there  being  no  other  available.  The  pumps  had 
to  be  worked  night  and  day  to  keep  us  afloat.  One  day 
there  would  be  a  bad  list  to  one  side  and  the  next  day  to 
the  other  so  that  most  of  the  time  it  was  impossible  to 
walk  on  deck.  Luckily  no  storm  came  up  or  nothing 
could  have  prevented  our  going  to  the  bottom. 

Singapore 

This  large  city  impresses  one  at  once  as  being  clean, 
well  built  and  in  the  style  of  the  British,  very  orderly  and 
sanitary.  The  streets  of  the  foreign  quarters  and  shop- 
ping district  are  wide  and  there  are  wide  verandas  to  the 
hotels ;  and  plenty  of  small  lizards  running  over  the  walls 
of  the  rooms,  hiding  behind  pictures,  and  suddenly  darting 
out  to  devour  an  insect  of  one  sort  or  another;  but  there 
are  no  mosquitoes.  Freedom  from  this  pest  is  due  to  the 
lizards,  which  are  harmless  to  humans  but  the  deadly 
enemy  of  flies  and  mosquitoes,  and  for  that  reason  these 
little  beasts  of  prey  are  not  molested  or  killed  off.  In 
Honolulu  where  the  small  lizards  have  been  so  largely 
exterminated  mosquitoes  are  a  fearful  pest. 

The  weather  is  very  warm  and  moist  in  Singapore, 
but  the  concerts  were  given  to  packed  houses,  and  as  this 
city  is  the  concentrating  point  of  ocean  traffic  from  Japan, 
Java,  Australia  and  the  West  by  all  the  big  liners  an(| 


228  MY  MEMORIES 

smaller  ones  from  localities  nearer  at  hand,  one  might 
count  on  a  crowd  at  every  concert,  not  to  mention  the 
residential. 

Nothing  out  of  the  ordinary  transpired  here.  We  met 
a  lot  of  charming  people  socially  and  were  much  inter- 
ested in  noticing  the  immens'e  variety  of  races  seen  on  the 
streets  gathered  from  a-ll  the  countries  round  about. 

The  usual  bevy  of  Malay  boy  swimmers  paddled  about 
our  boat,  diving  for  money  thrown  to  them  into  the  water, 
when  we  took  our  departure  for  Java  on  a  wonderful  old 
boat,  one  of  the  earliest  built  for  steam  navigation.  If 
I  remember  rightly  it  had  been  an  ocean  liner,  but  in  its 
old  age  had  been  transferred  to  the  more  peaceful  waters 
between  Sumatra  and  Borneo  to  ply  between  Singapore, 
at  the  tip  of  the  Malay  peninsula,  and  Batavia,  on  the  Is- 
land of  Java.  The  trimmings  of  this  ship  were  of  teak 
wood  and  the  brass  highly  polished,  and  the  deck  was  as 
large  as  a  ballroom ;  where,  under  canvas,  we  could  sit 
all  day  long  and  enjoy  the  passing  panorama,  or  cast  an 
eye  into  the  engine  room  and  watch  the  rhythmical  move- 
ments of  the  mechanism  all  highly  polished  and  ever}^- 
thing  as  neat  as  wax.  The  cabins  just  below  the  deck 
were  immense.  Ours  had  berths  running  both  length- 
wise and  crosswise  of  the  ship,  the  idea  of  the  designer 
being  that  if  a  sea  were  on  which  would  make  the  ship 
plunge  with  her  nose  in  the  waves,  rising  and  falling,  one 
could  use  the  berths  running  lengthwise;  and  if  the  ship 
were  rolling  from  side  to  side  one  could  shift  to  those 
which  ran  crosswise  of  the  ship,  and  thus  be  in  a  position 
to  adapt  the  body  to  the  motion  and  thus  withstand  sea- 
sickness.    This  is  the  secret  of  avoiding  "  mal-de-mer,'' 


SHANGHAI  229 

In  the  cabins  of  modern  ocean  greyhounds  aside  from 
the  cabins  de  luxe  no  such  foresight  for  the  comfort  of 
passengers  has  been  taken  into  account,  but  one  may  have 
resort  to  a  long  deck  chair  which  can  be  turned  in  any 
direction  desired,  in  ordinary  weather  at  least. 

Here  we  were  once  more  crossing  the  Equator.  It  is 
a  curious  fact  that  we  found  it  not  so  warm  just  on  the 
line,  but  the  heat  increased  rapidly  at  about  8  or  10  degrees 
on  either  side  of  it,  in  the  torrid  zone.  We  were  in  sight 
of  land  much  of  the  voyage,  sailing  between  islands  whose 
spicy  fragrance  was  wafted  towards  us;  and  beyond  were 
distant  mountains.  All  was  beautiful  —  very,  very  beau- 
tiful. The  waters  would  take  different  tints,  suddenly 
changing  from  limpid  green  or  blue  to  a  clear  dark  coffee 
color. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

JAVA 

We  reached  Batavia  very  shortly,  and  were  greeted 
with  rumors  of  war.  Troops  were  being  hurried  over  to 
Sumatra  to  quell  uprisings  of  the  natives.  Lying  only  a 
few  degrees  below  the  Equator  one  would  expect  the  cli- 
mate of  Java  to  be  unbearably  hot;  but  the  wealthy  Dutch 
merchants  and  their  families  have  intelligently  adapted 
their  mode  of  life  and  dress  to  the  conditions  and  by  fol- 
lowing the  customs  of  the  natives  wherever  possible,  one 
can  be  fairly  comfortable.  It  was  permissible  to  appear 
until  tiffin  in  a  loose  jacket  of  white  linen  and  a  cotton 
shirt  or  native  sarong,  held  in  place  by  a  scarf,  straw 
sandals,  and  no  stockings.  Gentlemen  wore  pajamas  un- 
til noon;  in  fact  no  one  dressed  until  luncheon.  Every 
one  was  up  at  a  very  early  hour  striding  to  the  baths  be- 
fore daybreak,  after  which  some  black  coffee,  very  bad 
too,  I  recall,  and  then  off  for  the  morning  constitutional, 
riding,  driving  or  walking  in  the  cool  of  the  early  morn- 
ing. The  baths  were  an  oriental  contrivance  of  stone  jars 
and  cups,  and  were  refreshing,  surely.  One  would  take  a 
bath  at  least  three  times  between  morning  and  night. 
The  beds  were  simply  fine  matting  drawn  between  or 
attached  to  four  posters  over  which  linen  sheets  were 
thrown.  A  few  pillows  and  mosquito  netting  finishes  the 
picture.     There  are  few  troublesome  insects  where  the 

230 


JAVA  231 

lizards  are  not  molested  and  I  have  no  recollections  of 
passing  sleepless  nights  as  I  did  in  Honolulu,  where  the 
mosquitoes  are  a  fearful  pest. 

After  lunch  or  tiffin  the  populace  disappeared  for  a 
nap,  after  which  the  procession  to  the  baths  began  once 
more  and  then  one  dressed  for  dinner  and  as  lightly  as 
possible,  of  course,  although  I  saw  several  ladies 
(would-be  leaders  of  fashion  perhaps)  arrayed  of  an  aft- 
ernoon in  dresses  made  of  Scotch  woolen  plaid,  and  for 
the  evening  other  ladies  wore  the  heaviest  satin  brocades. 
Needless  to  say  that  they  were  sweltering,  and  I  con- 
sider that  this  was  carrying  the  vanity  of  dress  with  a 
high  hand  and  a  higher  temperature. 

In  the  evening  after  dinner  one  resorted  to  the  clubs 
or  sat  on  the  verandas  in  long  chairs  under  the  low 
thatched  roofs,  drinking  cooling  ades  of  one  sort  or  an- 
other and  listening  to  the  lizards  calling  to  their  mates 
instead  of  the  nightingales,  when  suddenly  from  the 
thatch  above  one's  head  a  hoarse  croak  would  be  heard 
calling  "TAC-KAW!  TAC-KAW!"  with  downward 
inflexion  ending  in  a  click  as  the  jaws  of  the  creature 
snapped  together.  This  made  one  who  was  not  accus- 
tomed to  such  noises  rather  nervous,  not  knowing  either 
but  what  one  might  light  on  one's  head  at  any  moment; 
but  on  reflection  we  decided  there  was  little  difference  be- 
tween such  lizards  and  frogs  and  both  are  harmless  crea- 
tures. 

Arrangements  had  been  made  for  our  first  concert  in 
Batavia  and  the  date  announced  when  I  had  a  mishap 
to  my  violin  which  forced  me  to  postpone  it  a  week.  ]\ly 
violin  had  simply  oozed  apart,  the  moist  heat  being  too 


232  MY  MEMORIES 

much  for  the  glue  of  the  temperate  zone.  Fortunately  a 
gentleman  had  a  wonderful  glue  suited  to  a  tropical  cli- 
mate and  the  pieces  were  put  together  again,  but  a  week 
was  necessary  for  it  to  solidify  sufficiently. 

Meantime  the  mishap  and  the  postponement,  being 
noised  abroad,  worked  to  our  good,  and  when  we  finally 
appeared  it  was  in  a  theater  filled  to  its  capacity  with  the 
elite  of  the  city. 

The  Baraboedoer  Temple 

Another  event  of  immense  interest  was  our  trip  to  see 
the  wonderful  Temple  of  Baraboedoer,  five  square  ter- 
races and  three  circular,  together  with  the  dome,  having 
been  excavated  from  the  ground,  where  it  had  been  buried 
for  ages,  and  on  which  had  grown  gigantic  trees. 

This  is,  no  doubt,  a  temple  erected  by  Buddhists,  and, 
in  fact,  in  hundreds  of  niches  at  intervals  along  the  dif- 
ferent terraces  are  seated  statues  of  Buddha  resembling 
those  of  China  and  Japan,  but  minus  the  long  enveloping 
robe  which  even  poetic  license  would  not  allow  in  the 
warm  climate  of  Java  ;  but  having  the  same  form  of  head- 
dress and  a  similar  manner  of  holding  the  hands. 

But  in  the  dome  of  the  Temple,  seated  on  an  elabo- 
rately carved  throne  upon  tufted  cushions,  is  a  statue  of  a 
god  more  than  life-size,  with  a  high  crown,  encrusted 
with  jewels,  and  immediately  in  the  front  of  it  one  can 
see  a  Buddha  in  miniature,  set  in  like  a  cameo.  Who 
was  this  God? 

Who  was  he  ?  Some  one  has  said  it  represents  Vishnu. 
But  Vishnu  had  four  arms,  if  I  am  not  mistaken. 

This  great  Temple,  like  that  of  Solomon,  was  built 


JAVA  233 

without  cement,  every  stone  being  cut  and  placed  together 
with  marvelous  exactitude. 

Perhaps  the  Chinese  could  tell  us  something  of  its  his- 
tory and  meaning.  One  large  bas-relief  represents  a 
Chinese  warrior  on  horseback,  his  spear  poised,  in  a  wild 
dash  among  warriors  of  another  race.  What  was  this 
Chinaman  doing  on  the  scene? 

While  ver}'-  little  is  actually  known  about  this  won- 
derful Temple,  we  might  imagine  that  the  beginning  of 
its  construction  started  with  the  advent  of  Buddhism 
instead  of  being  a  product  of  the  eighth  or  ninth  cen- 
tury, at  the  beginning  of  its  decline. 

There  is  considerable  mystery  as  to  the  originator  of 
Baraboedoer.  It  is  known,  however,  that  a  third  great 
synod  of  Buddhists  in  the  time  of  Asoka,  about  264  b.  c, 
decided  to  spread  Buddhism  abroad,  and  that  Java  came 
under  its  influence. 

In  Java  all  was  lovely  and  peaceful,  where  modern  de- 
vices are  in  no  way  requisite  to  happiness.  Here  every- 
thing grows  spontaneously  with  rich  profusion  without 
hard  labor.  Here  the  people  could  perceive  the  workings 
of  the  Creator  in  all  things,  from  the  shaking  of  the 
earth,  the  pillars  of  fire  and  smoke  of  their  volcanoes, 
the  perpetual  motion  of  budding  to  ripening  fruits,  grains 
and  flowers  in  a  continual  harvest;  the  transformative 
power  given  to  insects  to  appear  as  leaves  of  plants,  and 
fly  away  like  butterflies;  and  others  to  appear,  in  the  act 
of  self-preservation,  as  the  stem  or  twig  of  a  bush,  which 
we  discovered  to  be  an  intelligent,  living  thing  with  big- 
eyes,  when,  as  we  touched  it,  its  head  was  turned  to  regard 
us.     And  such  delectable  fruits.     The  mangosteen,  inside 


234  MY  MEMORIES 

its  shell  frost  white  lumps  of  sherbet  flavored  with  citron, 
strawberries  and  roses.  The  jelly  of  the  passion  flower! 
ambrosia  of  the  Gods!  in  a  snow-white  chalice.  The 
luscious  mangoes  and  many  other  fruits  unknown  out- 
side of  Java  —  a  veritable  garden  of  Eden.  And  why 
should  it  have  been  thought  necessary  to  send  Buddhist 
missionaries  to  save  a  people  who  were  already  in  a 
heaven  of  their  own?  Is  it  not  more  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  blessed  as  they  had  been  with  every  earthly 
good,  they  were  equally  enlightened  in  a  spiritual  sense 
and  that  the  religion  called  Buddhism  originated  there  in 
Java?  and  that  the  missionaries  went  forth  from  Java 
to  convert  the  world  to  the  west,  to  the  Indus,  and  north 
to  China  and  Tibet  and  Japan  ?  spreading  into  other  coun- 
tries on  the  way?  It  was  the  most  salubrious  climate  in 
the  world  for  the  beginning  of  anything  and  everything, 
and  with  which  no  other  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe 
can  bear  comparison.  To  my  mind  it  is  even  more  logi- 
cal k)  suppose  the  Garden  of  Eden  to  have  been  located 
here,  rather  than  in  the  Euphrates  valley. 

There  are  ruins  of  many  other  temples  in  different 
parts  of  Java  but  we  could  not  spare  the  time  necessary 
to  visit  them.  If  I  have  given  too  lengthy  a  description 
of  Baraboedoer,  it  is  for  the  reason  that  it  is  called  the 
eighth  wonder  of  the  world,  and  comparatively  few 
people  have  seen  it. 

A  Tiger  Feast  was  to  occur  shortly  at  a  place  to  which 
we  journeyed.  At  Soerabaya,  while  visiting  at  the  pal- 
ace of  the  Regent,  we  were  escorted  to  the  garden  where 
there  was  a  collection  of  these  wild  beasts  which  had  been 
caught  in  traps.     As  we  stood  by  the  cage  of  a  gorgeous 


JAVA  235 

young  tiger,  he  suddenly  became  enraged  at  our  intrusion, 
and  with  a  fearful  scream  he  hurled  himself  with  terrific 
force  against  the  bars.  Thereupon  it  was  a  sprint  for  life 
by  the  whole  party,  the  host  in  the  lead.  Fortunately  the 
cage  was  strong  enough,  and  we  were  not  chewed  to  bits. 

Out  in  front  of  the  palace  is  a  great  field,  or  green, 
surrounded  by  dense  thicket  and  tall  trees.  At  the  feast 
time  all  the  tigers  which  have  been  caught,  are  placed  in 
cages  in  a  line  at  the  farther  end  of  the  field.  Native  sol- 
diers were  lined  up  around  the  field,  and  when  the  cages 
were  opened  the  tigers,  knowing  themselves  at  liberty, 
rushed  out  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  as  they  dashed  to- 
ward the  soldiers,  they  were  received  on  the  points  of  their 
spears.  Of  course,  there  were  many  more  men  than 
tigers;  but  it  was,  nevertheless,  an  exciting  fight;  and 
not  all  the  men  came  ofif  whole,  but  all  the  tigers  were 
sooner  or  later  exterminated. 

The  true  Javanese  were  literary  and  musical  and  have 
retained  and  cultivated  the  arts.  There  is  the  Topeng, 
maintained  by  native  princes,  and  the  native  orchestra 
consists  of  sets  of  gongs,  struck  with  wooden  sticks  and 
instruments  made  of  strips  of  wood  and  metal  of  different 
lengths,  mounted  on  a  frame.  The  Topeng,  a  sort  of 
classical  lyric  drama,  accompanied  by  singing  and  orches- 
tra, and  the  masked  puppet  dramas,  are  said  to  have  been 
in  existence  long  before  the  invasion  of  the  Arabs  and 
Mohammedanism.  Their  music  is  harmonious,  weird 
and  sweet,  very  often  in  the  minor  key.  One  sees  de- 
picted on  the  bas-reliefs  of  Baraboedoer  the  dancing  girls, 
called  hcdaya,  as  seen  to-day,  very  graceful  and  charm- 
ing, clad  in  sarong  and  scarf. 


236  MY  MEMORIES 

An  experience  m  Java  occurred  on  the  morning  of  the 
date  on  which  we  were  to  appear  at  the  entertainment  for 
the  King  of  Siam,  at  Buitenzorg.  My  wife  awoke  feel- 
ing very  ill  with  all  the  symptoms  of  the  grippe.  It  was 
impossible  for  her  to  speak  above  a  whisper.  I  asked 
the  proprietor  of  the  hotel  to  recommend  a  doctor  and  he 
said :  — 

"Try  one  of  these  native  doctors;  they  are  wonder- 
ful." 

My  wife  was  skeptical,  but  consented  to  try  one,  and  in 
a  few  moments,  in  came  a  little  native  woman,  who  passed 
her  hands  gently  about  my  wife's  throat,  chest  and  head. 
Turning  her  over  on  her  face,  the  woman  pressed  her 
hands  for  a  moment  over  the  back  of  her  head  and  neck. 
The  whole  treatment  did  not  last  even  five  minutes. 
When  the  woman  had  gone,  I  went  in  to  Mrs.  Musin  and 
said :  — 

"Well,  how  are  you?"  She  replied  in  a  voice  per- 
fectly clear : 

"Why!  I'm  all  right!  I  feel  perfectly  well,"  and, 
in  fact,  what  would  ordinarily  have  become  an  illness  of  a 
week  or  ten  days  was  cured  like  magic. ^ 

My  wife  took  breakfast  and  afterward  began  to  sing, 
and  in  the  evening  was  never  in  better  voice.  This  ex- 
perience seemed  to  us  really  magical.  Is  this  the  healing 
spoken  of  in  the  Bible,  "  by  laying  on  of  hands  "?  The 
sequel  is,  that  while  the  woman  was  pressing  her  hands 

1  Abrams,  in  his  work  "  Progressive  Spondylotherapy,"  page  67, 
says  "  The  Royal  Touch,  and  the  laying  on  of  hands  for  the  cure 
of  disease  may  be  regarded  as  mythical  by  those  who  are  ignorant 
of  the  visceral  reflexes  and  the  potency  of  human  energy." 

Albert  Abrams,  A.M.,  L.L.D.,  M.D. 


JAVA  237 

over  the  head,  my  wife  told  me  she  thought  for  a  moment 
that  she  must  be  dehrious,  for  she  saw  the  strangest  fig- 
ures rise  before  her  eyes,  figures  of  dark  gray  stone,  Hke 
idols,  stained  with  green.  They  seemed  to  be  half  hidden 
in  dark  green  grass  or  undergrowth. 

Well,  the  day  after  as  we  were  on  our  journey  to 
Baraboedoer,  we  stopped  in  the  heat  of  the  day  to  take 
rest  and  refreshment,  and  in  the  cool  of  the  afternoon  we 
strolled  over  into  the  forest  where  hundreds  of  monkeys 
were  climbing  about.  We  continued  along  a  path  into 
the  denser  shade,  when  suddenly  my  wife  paused  and 
exclaimed :  — 

"  Look !  look  there !  There  are  the  strange  figures 
which  I  saw  when  the  woman  was  touching  my  head." 

We  examined  them  closely,  and  they  were  no  doubt 
idols  or  images  of  what  are  saints  in  the  religion  of  the 
natives.  Was  the  woman  praying  to  the  patron  saint  to 
cure  my  wife?  and  did  she  see  telepathically  the  images 
in  the  woman's  mind  ? 

For  a  concert  company  to  be  successful  in  Java  you 
have  to  appear  first  in  Batavia,  and  if  the  criticisms  are 
good  there  you  will  have  big  houses  throughout  the  Island. 
The  papers  in  Batavia  are  printed  in  the  Dutch  language, 
of  course,  and  the  opinion  of  the  Batavian  critics  prevails 
in  the  other  towns. 

The  two  largest  and  most  important  cities  are  Batavia 
and  Soerabaya,  both  being  seaports;  but  there  are  many 
smaller  towns  which  can  be  played  with  profit  on  account 
of  the  clubs  where  the  wealthy  planters  and  commercial 
people  congregate  in  the  evenings,  so  that  if  the  neigh- 
borhood is  at  all  populous  one  is  sure  of  a  good  house  and 


238  MY  MEMORIES 

an  appreciative  audience  as  well,  for  the  Dutch  are  music 
lovers  and  good  musicians;  and,  furthermore,  the  clubs 
give  a  guarantee,  and  if,  for  any  special  reason,  the  re- 
ceipts are  not  up  to  the  guarantee  the  sum  is  paid,  and  if 
the  receipts  are  above  the  guarantee  the  club  gives  you 
the  surplus,  as  there  is  no  one  in  the  club  to  profit  from 
the  affair.  This  happened  to  me  several  times  and  I  must 
say  the  receipts  were  never  once  less  than  the  guarantee 
but  the  amount  paid  me  was  several  times  double  the  guar- 
antee. This  is  an  ideal  arrangement  for  artists  and  prob- 
ably unique,  as  I  never  encountered  it  before  in  all  my 
travels. 

The  trains  in  Java  do  not  run  at  night  as  the  engineers 
and  other  employees  are  natives  and  the  Government  is 
very  careful  not  to  put  themselves  in  danger  of  upris- 
ings and  depredations  from  the  native  element ;  and  at 
night  every  Malay  is  obliged  to  carry  a  lighted  lantern  in 
going  anywhere,  or  be  fined.  This  regulation  was  estab- 
lished as  many  people  were  killed  by  the  natives,  who 
would  hide  themselves  in  the  bushes,  and  taking  one  un- 
awares would  step  up  from  behind  and  stab  the  person 
in  the  back  with  their  krises. 

We  gave  concerts  in  Batavia  and  might  have  continued 
them  indefinitely  with  success  had  not  the  Society  of 
Amateurs  been  giving  their  performance  of  "  Faust,"  the 
date  for  which  had  been  fixed  before  our  arrival,  so  we 
could  not  have  the  theater.  In  fact,  we  were  also  carry- 
ing away  considerable  guilders  which  ought  by  rights  to 
support  the  opera.  Therefore,  we  left  for  other  parts, 
but  this  amateur  performance  was  extraordinary,  as  the 
principals,  chorus,  ballet  and  orchestra  were  composed 


JAVA  239 

entirely  of  amateurs.  I  do  not  believe  this  could  have 
been  duplicated  anywhere,  but  the  Hollanders  are  very 
good  musicians,  you  know. 

Certain  experiences  in  Java  stand  out  prominently  in 
my  memory,  one  the  visit  of  the  King  and  Queen  of  Siam 
and  the  Court.  A  grand  entertainment  was  arranged  in 
their  honor  at  Buitenzorg,  at  which  we  appeared.  His 
Majesty,  the  Queen  and  Court  occupied  the  front  rows  of 
seats  and  there  was  a  gorgeous  display  of  toilettes  and 
jewels.  The  Siamese  ladies  were  chewing,  not  tobacco 
or  gum,  but  the  betel  nut,  which  had  so  blackened  their 
teeth  that  when  they  smiled  or  opened  their  mouth  in 
conversation,  one  saw  nothing  but  a  black  hole.  The 
effect  was  very  strange,  and  it  was  quite  fascinating  to 
watch  with  what  grace  and  dexterity  they  would  surrep- 
titiously expectorate  into  some  be  jeweled  receptacle.  The 
King  was  starting  out  on  his  tour  of  the  world.  He  was 
dark-skinned,  rather  tall  and  slender,  with  a  fine  face  and 
intellectual  forehead.  He  smiled  very  genially  at  some 
of  our  displays  of  technic,  and  afterwards  sent  us  some 
tokens  of  appreciation  in  the  form  of  very  ancient  coins 
of  pure  gold,  made  into  jewelry. 

We  gave  forty  concerts  in  Java  inside  of  two  months, 
and  then  went  back  to  Singapore  on  our  way  to  Rangoon ; 
but  for  a  week  or  more  I  had  been  tormented  with  prickly- 
heat,  which  is  prevalent  in  the  Island  amongst  transients 
not  accustomed  to  the  climate.  You  can  buy  a  long 
stick  with  claws  on  the  end  with  which  to  scratch  your 
back,  which  is  very  comforting  for  the  moment;  but  the 
only  effective  relief  is  the  shower  bath,  in  which  I  spent 
considerable  time  half  a  dozen  times  a  day.     Hearing  that 


240  MY  MEMORIES 

Rangoon  was  even  hotter  than  Batavia,  I  decided  to  can- 
cel Rangoon  and  find  out  if  there  was  likely  to  be  a 
steamer  at  Singapore  going  to  Australia,  where  it  would 
be  the  winter  season.  In  this  I  was  lucky,  for  a 
big  steamer,  coming  from  Calcutta  and  bound  for  Free- 
mantle  on  the  west  coast  of  Australia,  would  leave  Singa- 
pore in  two  days.  We  took  passage  at  once  and  when  we 
got  on  board  we  found  there  were  besides  our  party  four 
other  passengers  (two  were  going  to  the  gold  fields  of 
West  Australia),  and  fifty-eight  camels  which  were  actu- 
ally in  possession  of  the  best  part  of  the  deck,  just  amid- 
ships, nicely  covered  over  in  case  of  bad  weather.  We 
had  to  accept  cabins  quite  at  the  stern  of  the  vessel  and 
face  the  camels  all  through  the  journey,  unless  we  resigned 
ourselves  to  riding  backward  with  our  faces  to  the  rudder. 
This  was  a  disappointing  feature  of  the  trip,  although 
camels  are  interesting  creatures;  but  to  get  rid  of  the 
prickly-heat  I  felt  willing  to  make  any  sacrifice,  even  to 
enduring  the  camels.  The  practice  with  the  claw 
scratcher  was  not  bad  for  my  bow  arm,  however;  but  I 
could  get  no  sleep  at  night  on  account  of  the  torment. 
Another  thing  which  wore  on  the  nerves  of  the  whole 
party,  including  the  camels,  was  a  continual  hammering 
on  metal  for  hours  and  hours  at  a  stretch.  The  mate  had 
put  some  of  the  sailors  to  work  chipping  off  the  rust  from 
the  metalwork  of  the  ship  and  this  ear-splitting  noise  be- 
came unbearable ;  but  we  had  to  stand  it  for  several  days 
until  the  job  was  finished. 

The  journey  from  Singapore  to  Freemantle  took  nine 
days,  eight  of  which  were  hot  and  very  calm.  We  passed 
the  time  as  best  we  could,  two  of  the  passengers  and  my- 


JAVA  241 

self  playing  interminable  rounds  at  cribbage.  On  the  way 
down  from  Singapore,  out  into  the  Indian  Ocean,  through 
the  Straits  of  Sunda,  we  passed  by  the  volcanic  Island 
Krakatoa,  the  eruption  of  which  caused  that  terrible 
cataclysm  of  1883  in  which,  we  were  told,  sixty  thousand 
persons  were  wiped  out  of  existence  almost  instantane- 
ously. The  captain  of  our  ship  was  the  first  to  navi- 
gate through  those  waters  two  days  after  the  eruption 
of  the  volcano,  which  cast  more  than  half  of  the  Island 
to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  creating  a  tidal  wave  which 
swept  boats  of  all  kinds,  including  ocean-going  ships, 
high  on  the  bluffs,  leaving  them  there  hundreds  of  feet 
above;  the  wreckage  of  some  of  them  still  remained. 
The  captain  said  the  water  was  several  feet  thick  with 
volcanic  dust  and  thousands  of  corpses  of  men  and  ani- 
mals, so  that  it  was  almost  impossible  for  the  ship  to 
make  any  headway.  We  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  half 
of  the  Island  which  had  not  been  submerged  in  the  earth- 
quake and  eruption,  and  the  central  cone  containing  the 
crater  of  the  volcano  was  still  smoking,  sending  up  at 
regular  intervals  puffs  of  smoke,  just  as  before  the  ter- 
rible explosion. 

The  scene  was  superbly  beautiful,  the  waters  clear  and 
calm,  the  coast  once  more  covered  with  verdant  vegetation, 
but  the  tall  tower  of  the  light-house  nearly  opposite,  which 
was  not  destroyed,  was  still  marked  by  the  black  line 
which  showed  how  high  the  tidal  wave  had  reached  in  that 
mad  upheaval. 

One  of  the  passengers  who  had  been  there  at  the  time 
told  how  he  escaped  death.  There  had  been  some  earth- 
quake shocks  for  several  days  previous  to  the  great  ex- 


242  MY  MEMORIES 

plosion,  but  the  latter  came  without  warning,  he  said. 
"  It  happened  on  a  Sunday  when  everything  was  lovely 
and  peaceful,  and  I  had  strolled  up  the  hill  away 
from  my  bungalow  where  I  sat  down  to  watch  the  boats 
out  on  the  water.  Krakatoa  was  peacefully  smoking  his 
pipe,  and  the  waters  smooth  as  satin;  when  I  gazed  at 
the  boats  they  seemed  to  be  rising  as  if  on  an  immense 
swell  of  the  ocean,  but  before  I  could  grasp  what  it  meant 
there  came  the  explosion,  half  of  the  island  fell  into  the 
sea,  the  whole  heavens  were  black  with  dust  and  ashes  and 
hot  stones  fell  all  about  me  in  showers  and  the  sulphurous 
gases  nearly  suffocated  me.  I  must  have  lost  conscious- 
ness but  when  I  came  to  myself  that  peaceful  scene  had 
been  blotted  out  and  everything  was  a  mass  of  smoking 
ruins,  an  Inferno  in  reality.  I  picked  myself  up  after  a 
while  and  crawled  back  inland,  but  not  a  living  thing  was 
to  be  seen  for  mile  after  mile  —  everything  was  destroyed, 
and  covered  with  hot  ashes.  It  is  even  to-day  a  mystery 
to  me  how  I  got  far  enough  inland  to  be  saved.  The 
horrible  transformation,  wrought  like  the  biblical  *  crack 
of  doom  '  '  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,'  was  more  than 
mortal  mind  could  grasp  at  once  and  many  a  time  the 
vision  of  the  peaceful  Sabbath  morning  comes  back  to  me 
in  contrast  to  that  other  of  death  and  desolation." 

Well,  there  we  were  sailing  past  all  that  was  left  of 
Krakatoa,  and  from  its  crater  went  up  regular  puffs  of 
smoke  into  the  transparent  air  as  the  sun  began  sinking 
slowly  behind  the  mountains.  It  was  very  difficult  to 
believe  the  horrible  tale  of  destruction  wrought  by  the 
gods  Chaos,  Erebus,  Vulcan,  in  a  culmination  of  wrath 
upon  helpless  humanity.     I  had  accounts  at  first  hand 


JAVA  243 

from  two  who  went  through  the  experience  and  they  said 
the  sky  was  as  black  as  night  in  towns  far  away  like 
Batavia  and  others.  And  yet  in  a  few  years  Nature  had 
obliterated  all  the  scars  and  caused  trees  and  flowers  to 
grow  and  bloom  again. 

On  the  ninth  day  of  our  journey  the  wind  began  to 
rise  and  the  sea  to  roughen  and  we  were  evidently  in  for 
a  storm.  The  night  was  rough  but  the  next  morning 
the  sea  was  somewhat  calmer,  but  as  we  approached  the 
port  of  Freemantle  the  Captain  told  me  he  feared  he 
would  not  be  able  to  land,  as  the  waters  are  shallow  and  it 
is  dangerous  for  the  ships ;  but  a  smaller  steamer  came 
alongside  ours  to  take  off  the  passengers;  however,  to 
board  it  was  not  easy.  We  managed  to  transfer  ourselves 
without  mishap,  but  that  small  steamer  danced,  I  can  tell 
you,  and  we  finally  reached  the  quay  without  our  trunks 
and  only  such  small  hand  baggage  as  we  could  carry.  We 
had  to  wait  three  days  before  the  storm  abated  enough 
to  get  our  trunks  off  the  ship.  The  hotel  was  just  near 
the  port,  and  we  could  see  our  ship  in  the  distance,  fight- 
ing the  waves,  and  feel  the  wind  shaking  our  windows  and 
rattling  our  doors.  It  was  very  cold,  too, —  winter 
weather,  and  my  prickly-heat  disappeared  altogether. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

AUSTRALIA    AGAIN 

The  boat  which  took  us  from  Singapore  to  West  Aus- 
traha,  landing  us  at  Freemantle,  went  no  farther  along 
the  coast  of  Australia,  as  it  made  the  round  trip  from 
West  Australia  to  Calcutta,  and  to  get  to  other  cities  we 
had  to  take  a  train  to  Albany,  the  principal  port  of  West- 
ern Australia. 

As  the  names  of  my  concert  company  appeared  in  the 
papers  amongst  the  list  of  passengers  from  India,  the 
manager  of  the  opera  house  at  Coolgardie  came  to  see  me 
when  we  were  in  Perth  (the  capital  of  West  Australia), 
and  proposed  that  we  should  give  a  series  of  twenty  or 
thirty  concerts  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  as  he  had 
no  other  attraction  just  at  that  time,  he  could  devote  his 
full  time  and  attention  to  our  tour.  I  accepted  his  propo- 
sition and  we  were  at  once  booked  for  five  towns,  Perth, 
Freemantle,  Albany,  Calgoolie,  and  Coolgardie. 

Western  Australia  was  dead  before  the  discovery  of 
gold  at  Calgoolie  and  Coolgardie,  and  we  arrived  at  the 
beginning  of  the  "  big  boom  "  of  the  gold  mines  which 
proved  to  be  immensely  rich. 

As  we  were  well  known,  this  being  my  second  tour  in 
Australia,  all  the  newspapers  gave  us  considerable  free 
advertising  and  our  arrival  was  widely  announced,  during 
the  time  that  our  trunks  were  dancing  on  the  ship  out  in 
the  harbor  of  Freemantle.     I  was  really  worried  at  the 

244 


AUSTRALIA  AGAIN  245 

violence  of  the  storm  which  lasted  three  days;  for  had 
the  vessel  gone  down  all  of  our  music  and  wardrobes 
W'ould  have  been  lost;  but  on  the  third  day  the  storm  be- 
gan to  abate  and  in  time  our  trunks  and  the  fifty-eight 
camels  were  safely  landed. 

Our  first  concert  was  given  in  Perth,  just  one  week 
after  landing,  and  we  then  went  back  to  Freemantle  for 
one  concert.  We  then  returned  to  Perth  for  a  second 
concert  which  was  under  the  patronage  of  the  Governor. 
The  Opera  House  was  packed  from  pit  to  dome  and  the 
audience  most  enthusiastic.  We  then  left  for  the  gold 
fields,  where  our  living  expenses  were  big;  but  as  the 
prices  charged  for  tickets  were  proportionately  large  the 
matter  was  evened  up. 

One  room  —  rather  small  —  with  a  small  fire  cost 
$10.00  a  day;  but  a  small  room  with  no  fire  and  a  petro- 
leum lamp  at  night,  cost  $5.00.  The  receipts  at  the  con- 
certs were  large,  however,  and  as  it  was  a  difficult  matter 
any  way  to  find  comfortable  quarters  in  those  mining 
towns  we  were  well  satisfied  with  what  we  got  in  the 
way  of  accommodations. 

The  prices  for  the  tickets  to  the  concerts  were  a  pound, 
ten  shillings,  and  five  shillings  —  (five  dollars,  two  and  a 
half  and  one  twenty-five  a  seat). 

The  mining  towns  of  Calgoolie  and  Coolgardie  were 
most  orderly,  there  seeming  to  be  no  rough  element  what- 
ever; but  those  Britishers  who  were  intensely  interested  in 
the  gold  question  were  (as  the  British  are  everywhere  in 
the  world)  great  lovers  of  good  music,  and  there  was  no 
limit  to  the  enthusiasm,  having  been  so  long  deprived  of 
hearing  any  in  that  far  off  country. 


246  MY  MEMORIES 

We  gave  eight  concerts  at  the  gold  fields,  and  the  night 
before  we  left,  a  reception  was  given  in  our  honor,  at 
the  opera  house.  The  chairs  were  removed  and  a  ban- 
quet table  installed,  from  which  was  served  a  magnifi- 
cent supper.  Champagne  flowed  like  water,  and  many- 
speeches  were  made  complimenting  our  company,  to 
which  we  responded  with  heartfelt  thanks.  They  had  not 
as  yet  heard  enough  of  our  music  and  requests  were  made 
for  still  one  more  program,  which  we  gave  with  great 
pleasure;  for  there  is  nothing  which  will  warm  the  heart 
of  an  artist  like  real  appreciation. 

We  left  the  gold  fields  and  returned  to  Perth,  where  we 
gave  a  third  concert  which  was  again  attended  by  the 
Governor  and  his  family,  and  from  there  we  went  on  to 
Albany  where  we  gave  a  concert  before  taking  the  P.  &  O. 
boat  to  Melbourne,  where  we  would  appear  under  the 
management  of  Mr.  Lohr.  Messrs.  Williamson  and 
Musgrove  were  managers  for  theatrical  companies,  and 
when  Lohr  offered  me  a  contract  for  the  rest  of  Australia 
and  New  Zealand  I  accepted  immediately,  as  he  had 
brought  some  great  artists  from  England  to  Australia  and 
been  very  successful ;  but  my  first  tour  of  Australia  was 
under  the  management  of  Williamson  and  Musgrove. 

I  had  hoped  that  Lohr  would  have  us  give  the  first  con- 
cert at  Adelaide,  which  would  break  the  voyage  from 
Albany  to  Melbourne;  but  he  preferred  to  have  us  go 
directly  to  Melbourne,  which  was  a  sea  voyage  of  three 
days,  and  there  we  gave  six  concerts. 

My  contract  with  Lohr  was  for  twenty-five  concerts 
in  New  Zealand,  and  from  Melbourne  we  went  direct  to 
Auckland  in  the  north,  playing  in  cities  all  the  waj  toward 


AUSTRALIA  AGAIN  247 

the  south,  to  Invercargill.  The  horse-racing  season  was 
on  in  New  Zealand,  and  Lohr  made  contracts  with  the 
directors  of  the  races  in  the  different  towns  in  the  western 
part  of  New  Zealand,  for  fourteen  concerts.  We  went  as 
far  as  Hokitika,  appearing  in  the  evenings,  after  the  races 
were  over.  In  some  places  we  gave  only  one  concert,  and 
in  others,  as  many  as  the  days  the  races  would  last. 

The  journeys  from  one  place  to  another  had  to  be  made 
by  boat,  as  a  general  thing,  and  we  were  constantly  in  the 
society  of  jockeys,  trainers  and  owners  of  the  horses,  as 
well  as  the  horses  themselves.  As  we  "  belonged  to  the 
show,"  we  went  to  the  races  every  day,  and  every  day 
I  would  wager  a  small  sum  on  one  horse  or  another,  faith- 
fully following  the  straight  tip  of  this  or  that  owner,  and 
invariably  lost  money,  until,  on  the  last  day  of  the  races, 
I  followed  by  own  judgment  and  came  out  with  enough 
ahead  to  reimburse  me  for  the  losses.  This  was  the  first 
time  in  my  artistic  career  in  which  I  had  formed  a  part 
of  a  sporting  program,  and  while  such  a  thing  was  never 
done  in  any  other  country,  in  New  Zealand  it  was  all 
right,  and  we  had  a  very  enjoyable  experience  for  the  rea- 
son that  lovers  of  the  horse  happened  in  this  case  to  be 
lovers  of  music  as  well. 

From  Invercargill  we  went  back  to  Sydney,  Australia, 
and  gave  two  concerts  at  the  City  Hall,  the  largest  in 
Australia.  In  another  part  of  "  My  Memories  "  I  de- 
scribed this  hall  and  its  immense  organ,  which  was  the 
largest  in  the  world,  until  that  at  the  Exposition  of  St. 
Louis  was  built.  The  "  City  Organist  "  was  the  official 
title  held  by  August  Wiegand,  a  graduate  of  our  Royal 
Conservatory  of  Liege,     We  knew  each  other  when  boys 


248  MY  MEMORIES 

and  we  were  very  glad  to  meet  at  the  Antipodes.  Wie- 
gand's  position  netted  him  considerably  more  than  the 
actual  salary  of  one  thousand  pounds,  as  he  had  the  privi- 
lege of  benefit  concerts,  and  certain  other  perquisites. 

Wiegand  told  me  that  he  had  played  more  than  five 
thousand  compositions  for  the  organ  in  the  weekly  con- 
certs at  the  Town  Hall.  He  was  a  great  organist  and  was 
a  composer  as  well.  I  would  often  go  to  the  organ  loft 
with  him  and  play  pieces  with  organ  accompaniment,  and 
the  acoustics  of  the  hall  were  so  perfect  that  even  in  muted 
passages  the  tone  of  the  violin  would  be  heard  in  every 
part  above  the  accompaniment  of  the  organ. 

I  added  to  my  regular  company  a  young  lady  harpist 
from  New  Zealand.  The  people  of  Great  Britain  and  her 
colonies  are  fond  of  the  music  of  the  harp,  and  Miss 
Haverly's  numbers  furnished  a  pleasing  interlude  in  our 
programs.  I  may  say  without  boasting  that  I  believe 
we  broke  the  record  for  concerts  in  Sydney  in  1897  with 
twenty-one  in  three  weeks  at  the  Bijou  Theater  —  six 
concerts  and  matinee  on  Saturday,  every  week. 

One  day  I  was  at  luncheon  with  Hazon,  Director  of 
the  Philharmonic  Society,  and  Marish,  the  manager  of 
Paling  and  Co.,  the  leading  music  and  piano  firm  in 
New  South  Wales.  The  Philharmonic  Society  had  for 
several  years  given  the  "  Stabat  Mater  "  by  Rossini  at  the 
City  Hall  on  Good  Friday,  and  had  leased  the  hall  as 
usual  for  the  coming  Good  Friday ;  but  they  were  now 
rehearsing  "  The  Damnation  of  Faust "  by  Berlioz,  and 
during  our  conversation  Hazon  said  he  was  doubtful  if 
he  could  give  the  Stabat  Mater,  as  there  would  not  be  time 


AUSTRALIA  AGAIN  249 

to  prepare  it,  on  account  of  the  work  of  Berlioz.  I  said 
at  once,  that  if  he  could  not  use  the  hall  on  Good  Friday 
he  might  let  me  have  it.  Marish  insisted  on  this  idea  and 
we  took  a  cab  and  went  to  the  hall  and  changed  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  Philharmonic  to  that  of  the  Musin 
Concert  Co. 

Good  Friday  is  the  best  day  of  the  whole  year  for  con- 
certs, as  all  the  theaters  throughout  Australia  are  closed 
on  that  day  for  theatrical  performances ;  but  they  usually 
gave  sacred  concerts  instead.  The  next  day  I  met  Wil- 
liamson and  asked  him  if  he  intended  giving  a  sacred 
concert  at  his  theater,  and  he  said  he  did.  I  told  him 
about  Hazon  having  given  me  that  date  at  the  Town  Hall, 
and  said  that  I  feared  that  a  sacred  concert  at  his  theater 
would  hurt  my  affair.  Williamson  did  not  promise  to 
close  his  theater ;  but  I  could  see  that  he  was  ready  to  be 
agreeable,  and  in  fact  his  house  was  dark  on  that  great 
day,  and  thanks  to  him,  my  company  was  the  only  at- 
traction in  the  whole  city  of  Sydney. 

I  had  a  few  dates  to  fill  in  Queensland,  at  Brisbane, 
Maryborough,  etc.,  but  was  back  in  Sydney  the  night  be- 
fore Good  Friday.  I  had  engaged  additional  talent  for 
the  occasion,  with  Wiegand  as  organist,  a  contralto,  and  a 
baritone.  The  singers  gave  selections  from  oratorios, 
my  wife  and  the  contralto  singing  the  great  duo  from  the 
Stabat  Mater,  and  Mrs.  Musin  also  sang  the  aria  "  Let  the 
Bright  Seraphim  "  with  organ  accompaniment  and  trum- 
pet obligato,  and  the  Gounod  Ave  Maria  with  violin  obli- 
gato  by  myself.  I  played  the  andante  and  finale  of  the 
Mendelssohn  Concerto,  the  Prayer  from  Moses  in  Egypt, 


250  MY  MEMORIES 

arranged  for  the  G  string  by  Paganini,  and  the  air  by 
Bach  for  the  G  string,  and  other  selections  of  a  character 
in  keeping  with  the  occasion. 

The  hall  was  packed  with  people  and  hundreds  were 
obliged  to  stand.  The  prices  for  tickets  were  at  the  popu- 
lar rate  of  one,  two  and  three  shillings,  and  as  most  of 
the  money  was  in  silver  you  can  easily  understand  that  it 
required  four  baskets  to  carry  it,  and,  not  to  mention  the 
time  to  count  it,  I  had  to  have  a  couple  of  policeman  to 
take  it  to  the  hotel.  My  expenses  were  not  more  than 
five  hundred  dollars  and  the  net  receipts  were  over  six 
hundred  pounds  ($3000),  which  was  a  nice  little  purse; 
but  to  any  artist  the  mercenary  point  of  view  is  of  minor 
importance.  It  was  the  thrill  of  the  vast  audience,  the 
magnificent  organ,  the  elevation  of  the  spirit  by  the  music, 
which  left  an  impression  never  to  be  forgotten. 

From  Sydney  we  went  by  train  down  to  Melbourne 
where  we  gave  two  more  concerts  at  the  beautiful  Town 
Hall  of  the  city,  and  August  Wiegand  accompanied  me 
to  play  some  selections  on  the  organ.  From  Melbourne 
we  at  last  got  to  Adelaide,  where  we  gave  three  concerts. 
Adelaide  is  a  most  beautiful  city  of  a  distinct  type,  very 
like  Nancy  in  France,  called  "La  Coquette."  Here  I 
bought  tickets  for  Europe  by  the  P.  &  O.  liner  Ormuz. 
My  pianist  decided  to  locate  permanently  in  Australia, 
Miss  Haverly  returned  to  her  home  in  Wellington,  N.  Z., 
and  my  secretary,  Geyer,  also  decided  to  remain  in  Aus- 
tralia. My  second  tour  of  the  world  would  end  when  we 
reached  London  and  I  felt  that  after  playing  nearly  four 
hundred  concerts,  the  decidedly  hard  traveling  and  so 
forth  which  we  had  undergone,  merited  one  year  of  rest, 


AUSTRALIA  AGAIN  251 

and  bidding  farewell  to  our  hosts  of  good  friends  and 
that  hospitable  country  we  sailed  away  on  our  return 
journey  of  forty-five  days. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

HOMEWARD    BOUND 

We  left  Adelaide,  South  Australia,  in  a  large  vessel 
of  the  P.  &  O.  line,  the  Ormuz.  We  settled  down 
for  a  voyage  of  at  least  forty-five  days  before  we  would 
reach  England.  There  were  not  many  first  class  passen- 
gers, but  down  in  the  steerage  were  men  from  the  East 
who  gathered  on  the  lower  deck  in  the  twilight  and  sang 
their  peculiar  songs,  which  require  considerable  vocal 
flexibility  to  do  those  roulades  so  characteristic  of  the 
music  of  India. 

We  managed  to  wile  away  the  hours  with  the  usual 
routine,  of  bath,  breakfast,  bouillon,  luncheon,  nap,  aft- 
ernoon tea,  promenades  and  games  on  deck,  dinner,  music 
and  games  in  the  salon  and  smoking  room,  supper  and 
nightcaps,  reading  and  telling  stories.  The  weather  was 
fair  nearly  all  the  way  to  Ceylon,  where  we  stopped  at 
Columbo  for  a  few  hours  to  take  on  coal. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  see  something 
of  Columbo,  we  drove  to  a  large  hotel  and  seating  our- 
selves on  the  wide  veranda  we  soon  attracted  a  number  of 
native  merchants  and  necromancers  who  displayed  their 
wares  and  their  tricks, —  both  affording  us  entertainment. 
We  were  initiated  into  their  way  of  doing  business,  which 
was  to  our  disadvantage  on  that  occasion, —  the  first  we 
had  experienced  in  dealing  with  people  whose  beauty  of 

252 


HOMEWARD  BOUND  253 

countenance,  calm,  dignified,  yet  pleasing  manners,  in- 
spired the  utmost  confidence,  but  who  were  in  reality  past 
masters  of  the  art  of  deception.  We  were  interested  in 
a  display  of  very  fine  basket  work,  exquisitely  woven,  and 
I  chose  a  particularly  fine  specimen. 

There  were  several  of  the  merchants  interested  in  the 
sale  standing  about,  evidently  in  collusion;  for  when  I 
had  paid  and  received  the  article  carefully  wrapped  in 
paper,  I  happened  to  open  the  parcel  after  going  a  few 
steps,  and  discovered  that  what  they  had  given  me  was 
a  poor  specimen  indeed  of  the  beautiful  work  I  had  se- 
lected. I  went  back  and  said,  "  This  is  not  the  piece  which 
I  bought."  The  venerable  prophet  examined  the  article 
and  with  apologetic  gesture  took  it  back  and,  showing 
me  the  former  piece,  smiled  sweetly,  wrapped  it  up  and 
handed  it  to  me.  Full  of  confidence  I  took  the  parcel  a 
second  time  and  walked  away ;  but  a  slight  suspicion 
clouded  my  mind  for  an  instant,  and  I  opened  the  package 
to  find  the  prophet  had  again  substituted  the  inferior  piece 
of  work.  I  was  indignant  and  went  back  to  the  man  and 
demanded  the  perfect  piece  which  I  had  bought.  With  a 
show  of  deepest  regret  he  patiently  took  it  back;  and  as 
he  wrapped  the  right  article,  I  watched  him  as  a  cat  would 
a  mouse,  only  to  find  on  opening  our  parcels  after  getting 
back  to  the  ship  that  the  old  rascal,  who  looked  so  much 
like  a  Prophet,  had  finally  and  with  complete  success  dis- 
posed of  his  imperfect  piece  of  work,  and  by  his  leger- 
demain had  cheated  me  out  of  my  purchase  and  the  per- 
fectly good  gold  piece  which  I  had  paid  him. 

Such  legerdemain  was  comprehensible  after  another 
experience  which  we  had  in  Columbo  that  afternoon,     A 


254  MY  MEMORIES 

handsome  oriental  in  turban  and  flowing  robes,  squatted 
himself  in  the  path  before  us.  Out  of  the  intricate  folds 
of  his  robe  he  produced  a  silk  handkerchief,  a  bottle  of 
water;  and  in  the  palm  of  his  hand  he  showed  us  some 
seeds.  Apparently  the  pits  of  a  lemon.  He  made  a 
little  hole  in  the  sand  with  his  finger  and  planted  a  couple 
of  the  seeds;  watered  them  after  covering  them  with  the 
sand  and  then  spread  the  handkerchief  over  the  spot. 

While  we  gazed  to  see  what  would  happen  next  we 
noticed  a  slight  elevation  in  the  center  of  the  handker- 
chief which  continued  to  rise  higher  and  higher.  Taking 
the  water  bottle  the  man  raised  a  corner  of  the  handker- 
chief and  cautiously  sprinkled  the  ground  underneath  it. 
Evidently  the  seeds  were  growing  rapidly,  for  in  less  than 
three  minutes  the  handkerchief  had  risen  over  a  foot  in 
the  air  and  when  the  man  removed  it  with  a  flourish,  there 
was  a  fresh  green  plant  with  large  spreading  leaves.  How 
did  he  do  it? 

Those  magicians  had  evidently  developed  the  art  of  dis- 
tracting one's  attention  to  such  a  fine  point,  that  by  some 
slight  and  unobserved  gesture  they  could  divert  one's 
mind  from  what  they  were  doing  at  the  moment,  although 
one  might  suppose  himself  to  be  intently  following  every 
one  of  their  movements.  No  doubt  that  plant  was  up 
the  man's  sleeve  all  the  time,  or  he  may  have  hypnotized 
us  so  that  we  thought  we  saw  it  growing;  but,  supposing 
he  knew  of  some  scientific  solution  whereby  miraculously 
rapid  growth  might  be  promoted,  what  a  godsend  it  would 
be  toward  solving  the  question  of  the  high  cost  of  liv- 
ing in  these  days!  Of  course  this  trick  was  nothing 
to  what  some  of  the  cult  are  able  to  perform. 


HOMEWARD  BOUND  255 

But  now  to  our  ship  and  the  continuation  of  our  jour- 
ney, through  the  Indian  Ocean  and  the  Gulf  of  Aden  into 
the  Red  Sea,  so  called  no  doubt  from  the  dusky  red  tint 
of  the  mountains  along  the  west  coast.  On  the  east,  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  were  sandy  desert  waste  and 
dunes;  but  as  twilight  approached,  the  air  was  perfumed 
with  the  spicy  fragrance  of  Arabia.  From  time  to  time 
there  came  into  view  .the  solitary  figure  of  a  Bedouin 
swaying  along  on  the  back  of  a  camel. 

One  evening  as  we  sat  on  deck  enjoying  the  balmy  per- 
fumed air,  watching  the  stars  and  listening  to  the  weird, 
melancholy  warblings  of  the  singers  in  the  forecastle, 
the  captain  strolled  up  and  informed  us  that  if  we  were 
on  deck  early  in  the  morning  we  could  see  Mount  Sinai. 
Think  of  it!  the  Mount  where  Moses  received  the 
Decalogue! 

I  am  sorry  to  state  that  with  the  best  of  intentions  I 
missed  it  nevertheless.  My  wife  was  up  before  the  sun, 
however,  and  described  Mount  Sinai  as  appearing  like  a 
crown  of  glory.  The  rays  of  sunlight  streaming  between 
the  several  peaks  —  which  were  dark  against  that  piercing 
light  —  spread  out  in  glorious  illumination.  It  was  a 
sight  so  awe  inspiring  that  she  did  not  wonder  the  Mount 
was  called  holy. 

The  waters  of  the  Red  Sea  began  to  grow  shallower 
after  a  bit,  and  narrower.  The  place  was  pointed  out  to 
us  where  the  Children  of  Israel  crossed  over  on  dry  land 
when  the  waters  were  pushed  back  by  the  mighty  wind, 
which  providentially  arose  to  enable  them  to  escape  from 
Pharaoh's   pursuing   army,    which   was    completely   de- 


256  MY  MEMORIES 

stroyed  when  the  subsidence  of  the  wind  caused  the 
waters  to  return  and  engulf  it. 

At  this  place  in  the  Red  Sea  we  encountered  a  terrific 
head  wind  against  which  our  big  ship  made  headway  with 
difficulty,  and  it  was  easy  to  believe  the  Biblical  story  as 
to  the  shallow  water  being  driven  away  to  form  a  dry 
place  where  the  Children  of  Israel  could  cross  to  the  other 
shore. 

At  Port  Said  we  stopped  for  a  few  hours ;  but  there  was 
nothing  of  particular  interest  in  the  way  of  sightseeing 
except  a  place  where  roulette  was  going  on.  We  fol- 
lowed the  crowd  and  taking  a  sporting  chance  I  ventured 
a  gold  piece,  placing  it  on  a  number  as  I  used  to  do  occa- 
sionally at  Monte  Carlo.  Luck  was  on  my  side  and  plac- 
ing the  winning  once  more,  I  won  again,  and  the  croupier 
passed  over  to  me  ten  gold  pieces.  This  was  enough,  as 
I  did  not  care  to  tempt  fortune  further.  We  returned  to 
our  ship  and  continued  our  journey  to  the  Bay  of  Naples 
where  we  lay  for  some  hours,  watching  Vesuvius  smoking 
and  occasionally  catching  a  whiff  of  the  acrid  fumes 
which  the  wind  wafted  toward  us  from  the  crater.  We 
had  anchored  early  in  the  morning,  and  very  soon  we 
were  visited  by  a  lot  of  small  craft,  many  containing 
musicians  and  singers  who  gave  us  over  and  over  again 
the  popular  song  "  Funiculi  Funicula."  At  times  the 
boys  in  one  of  the  boats  would  be  playing  and  singing 
this  song  in  a  different  key  and  measure  from  those  in 
other  boats,  creating  a  confusion  and  discord  which  drove 
us  nearly  wild.  There  was  no  escaping  it,  for  the  port- 
holes were  all  open  even  if  we  sought  refuge  in  our  cabins, 
so  we  diplomatically  bought  them  off  one  by  one,  and  they 


HOMEWARD  BOUND  257 

rowed  away  satisfied  with  the  coins  which  we  threw  to 
them. 

The  vocabularies  of  all  languages  must  have  been  ex- 
hausted in  describing  the  beautiful  Bay  of  Naples,  and 
an  attempt  to  do  so  on  my  part  would  furnish  no  novelty ; 
but  of  course  this  bay  is  unique,  and  leaves  an  indelible 
impression,  in  spite  of  the  many  entrancing  pictures  of 
scenes  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  which  we  have 
stored  away  in  memory's  gallery,  each  and  every  one  hav- 
ing marked  physical  characteristics  and  psychological  ef- 
fects. Beautiful  as  is  the  Bay  of  Naples,  there  is,  over- 
shadowing it,  that  menacing  terror,  Vesuvius,  which  needs 
careful  watching;  for,  one  must  be  prepared  to  flee  when 
the  monster  growls  and  shakes  with  wrath,  for  fear  that 
molten  streams  of  lava  will  be  emitted  from  its  mouth 
and  the  earth  be  covered  with  ashes,  as  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum. 

In  marked  contrast  to  this,  the  psychological  effect  of 
beautiful  "  Golden  Gate,"  and  of  the  harbor  of  Sydney,  is 
that  of  charming  tranquillity  and  peace.  That  of  New 
York  is  of  overpowering  energy,  vitality  and  daring.  As 
a  big  ocean  liner  enters  the  harbor,  a  vast  number  of  ves- 
sels of  all  sizes  seem  to  be  dashing  towards  it,  plunging 
over  the  water,  tossing  the  foam,  and  emitting  loud,  deep, 
and  shrill  barks  from  their  black  throats,  like  a  pack  of 
hounds  unleashed  by  the  hunter,  and  wild  for  the  chase. 
All  is  rush!  drive!  The  vast  piles  of  towering  buildings 
typify  the  height  to  which  American  ambition  and  enter- 
prise will  carry  even  those  who,  a  short  time  before,  might 
have  been  leading  a  peaceful  existence  on  the  -other  side 
of  the  Atlantic. 


258  MY  MEMORIES 

Here,  all  the  impelling  mental  force  of  man  has  full 
sway,  to  conquer  material  obstacles,  and  a  European, 
experiencing  for  the  first  time  his  landing  in  New  York, 
feels  as  if  a  large  amount  of  vitality  had  gone  from  him, 
to  be  absorbed  by  the  strenuous  atmosphere  of  this  great 
city,  and  that  a  week's  rest  at  least  will  be  necessary,  be- 
fore he  feels  himself  again,  and  able  to  take  a  sane  view 
of  the  outlook. 

But  we  must  return  to  the  Bay  of  Naples.  Our  ship 
is  getting  under  way,  and  we  are  now  counting  on  seeing 
the  Rock  of  Gibraltar,  this  name  being  a  corruption  of 
Jebel  Tariq  (Tank's  Mountain),  who  began  to  build  a 
castle  on  the  rock  in  711,  which  was  finished  in  742. 

What  Cyclopean  force  of  nature  cut  this  colossal  rock 
almost  clean  from  the  top,  which  is  more  than  fourteen 
hundred  feet  high,  to  the  sea  below  ?  In  primeval  times, 
the  basin  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Strait  may  have 
been  a  valley  between  the  Sierra  Nevada  range  on  the 
coast  of  Spain,  and  the  Atlas  range  on  the  northern  coast 
of  Africa;  but  whatever  the  cause  of  the  formation  of 
this  gigantic  rock,  which  is  two  and  a  half  miles  long  at 
its  base,  as  one  regards  it  from  the  deck  of  a  puny  ocean 
cockle  shell  of  ten  thousand  tons,  the  effect  is  grandiose 
to  say  the  least.  This  rock  is  there  to  stay,  and  we  are 
glad  that  it  is  in  the  possession  of  an  enlightened  people 
who  know  how  to  put  it  to  the  best  possible  use.  A 
mighty  fortress  and  a  formidable  rampart  it  is  indeed. 

Nothing  could  have  pleased  me  more  than  to  have  gone 
ashore  or  rather  on  the  rock,  had  we  been  permitted  to  do 
so ;  but  we  were  bound  for  England,  via  the  Atlantic  with 


HOMEWARD  BOUND  259 

its  variable  moods  and  movements ;  and  in  fact  we  arrived 
safely  in  London  town  after  a  most  enjoyable  voyage  of 
forty-five  days.  We  rested  there  a  bit  and  then  went  on 
to  dear  old  Liege. 


CHAPTER  XX 

RETURN    TO    BELGIUM 

As  my  last  tour  had  consumed  two  years  you  can  imag- 
ine that  my  mother  and  brothers  were  at  the  station  wait- 
ing for  us  when  we  arrived.  I  had  not  been  two  days 
in  town  when  I  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Pety  de  Thozee, 
then  Governor  of  the  Province  of  Liege,  and  also  Presi- 
dent of  the  Administrative  Commission  of  the  Royal  Con- 
servatory, which  told  me  that  Cesar  Thomson  had  resigned 
and  asked  me  if  I  would  take  the  position.  As  related 
earlier  in  my  memoirs,  I  had  refused  this  position  fifteen 
years  or  more  before  this,  as  I  was  then  at  the  height  of 
my  career,  and  Thomson  took  the  position ;  since  being 
married  and  having  a  family,  he  could  better  accept  the 
honor.  I  replied  to  the  Governor  that  I  would  consult 
with  my  wife;  but  I  did  not  find  her  very  enthusiastic 
on  the  prospect  of  settling  in  Liege,  and  I  must  say  that 
I  had  never  had  the  intention  of  so  doing.  I  explained 
to  my  wife  that  Leonard,  Jacques  Dupuis,  Heinberg, 
Rodolph  Massart  and  other  great  violinists  had  occupied 
that  position ;  which  would  be  a  very  easy  one  to  fill,  as 
I  would  teach  only  six  months  of  the  year  and  in  the 
balance  of  the  time  we  could  make  concert  tours  in  Eu- 
rope and  America,  and  my  teaching  would  occupy  but 
six  hours  of  each  week.  I  told  her  also  that  my  mother 
was  getting  old  (she  was  then  'J2)  and  that  I  felt  I  ought 

260 


RETURN  TO  BELGIUM  261 

to  stay  near  her  a  while,  and  persuaded  my  wife  that 
after  so  many  years  of  traveling  a  rest  was  really  neces- 
sary. At  last  my  wife  consented  to  do  as  I  thought  best, 
to  the  great  satisfaction  of  my  family;  but  had  it  not 
been  for  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  by  the  State  and  my 
family  I  would  probably  have  settled  in  Paris.  In  that 
same  year,  1898,  I  was  by  "  Arrete  Royal  "  nominated 
Professor  with  special  salary  and  six  months'  leave  of 
absence  (including  vacations)  for  concert  tours  in  other 
countries. 

On  Feb.  i8th,  1898,  I  was  presented  as  soloist  at  the 
second  concert  of  the  season,  given  by  the  orchestra  of 
the  Royal  Conservatory  and  played  three  numbers,  the 
Russian  Concerto  by  Lalo,  the  Concerto  by  Mendelssohn, 
and  the  Folia  of  Corelli.  The  orchestra  is  composed  en- 
tirely of  the  professors  and  laureates  of  the  Conservatory, 
and  numbers  one  hundred  musicians,  conducted  by  the 
Director  of  the  Conservatory. 

The  Grande  Salle  de  Concert  of  the  institution  is  not 
one  which  can  be  rented  by  any  one  or  any  society,  being 
for  the  use  of  the  institution  exclusively ;  and  every  season 
six  concerts  are  given  by  the  orchestra  at  which  renowned 
artists  appear  as  soloists.  In  the  great  hall,  pupil-orches- 
tra concerts  are  also  given  during  the  winter  and  recitals 
on  the  large  organ  (built  at  the  rear  of  the  stage  at  the  top 
of  the  tiers  of  seats  for  the  singers  in  oratorios  or  other 
choral  works)  are  given  by  the  professor  of  the  organ. 

In  the  large  concert  hall  are  held  the  annual  public 
examinations  which  take  place  for  all  branches  of  music 
and  last  over  one  month,  the  boxes,  orchestra  chairs,  dress 
circle  and  galleries  being  occupied  by  the  public  free  of 


262  MY  MEMORIES 

charge;  and  the  interest  manifested  by  the  pubHc  of  Liege, 
Brussels,  Antwerp  and  Ghent  in  the  annual  examinations 
is  as  great  as  for  a  bullfight  in  Spain  or  a  baseball  match 
in  the  United  States. 

The  distribution  of  the  prizes  is  a  great  event.  The 
Governor  and  other  members  of  the  administrative  com- 
mission, director  and  members  of  the  Town  Hall  are 
seated  on  the  stage  before  a  long  table  covered  with  di- 
plomas, prizes  and  laurel  wreaths,  and  as  the  names  of  the 
successful  laureates  are  called,  each  one  mounts  the  stage 
and  on  being  presented  with  his  or  her  prize,  is  congratu- 
lated by  one  or  another  of  the  distributors. 

For  the  subscription  concerts  the  seats  in  the  boxes, 
dress  circle  and  fauteuil  d'orchestra  (orchestra  chairs) 
are  retained  permanently  from  year  to  year  by  the  same 
subscribers  as  at  the  opera. 

In  1898  there  were  more  than  seven  hundred  pupils, 
belonging  to  all  classes  of  society,  represented  in  the  Con- 
servatory ;  to  whom  instruction  in  music  in  every  branch 
was  given  free  of  cost.  There  were  about  sixty  or  more 
professors  whose  appointments  were  on  the  plane  of  the 
University  and,  thus  being  financially  independent  of  the 
pupils,  the  professor  could  exercise  an  authority  and  di- 
rect his  work  for  their  artistic  advancement  in  a  manner 
otherwise  impossible,  where  the  pupil  is  the  employer  and 
free  to  work  as  the  teacher  says  or  not,  with  full  liberty 
to  fly  from  one  teacher  to  another,  according  to  the  fancy 
or  whim  of  the  moment  or  upon  the  advice  of  persons  who 
may  be  paying  for  his  instruction,  who  as  a  general  thing 
know  nothing  as  to  what  is  essential  to  the  formation  of 
efficient  musicians  and  artists.     In  my  own  case  since  I 


KUVAI,  CONSER\'A  rOKV  Ol'  lAKCE 


RETURN  TO  BELGIUM  263 

started  my  own  violin  school  in  New  York  in  1908  I 
have  had  no  cause  to  complain  of  pupils  in  the  above  re- 
spect; for  every  one  came  with  the  serious  intention  of 
making  the  career  in  one  line  or  another  as  players  or 
teachers  or  both  and  remained  with  me  in  many  cases  for 
several  years  or  until  their  funds  were  expended.  Never 
having  been  the  recipient  of  an  endowment  fund  or  free 
scholarships  for  talented  but  impecunious  students,  my 
work  has  necessarily  been  limited  to  a  certain  extent  as 
to  the  number  of  my  violin  students,  facts  which  show 
plainly  the  value  of  an  institution  like  those  of  Liege, 
Brussels,  Antwerp  and  Ghent,  which  are  not  charitable 
institutions,  but  Government  schools  of  music,  placed 
above  political  and  commercial  considerations  for  the  sole 
object  of  developing  native  talent  for  the  artistic  glory  of 
Belgium.  The  Directors  of  the  four  conservatories  in 
Belgium  have  always  been  Belgian  musicians  who  are,  as 
young  composers,  winners  of  the  Prix  de  Rome,  and 
have  distinguished  themselves  as  composers  and  directors 
of  orchestras,  directors  of  the  opera,  etc.  The  Conserva- 
toire of  Liege  has  had  four  directors,  Dausoigne  Mehul, 
1827-1862;  Etienne  Soubre,  1862-1871 ;  Jean  Theo. 
Radoux,  1872  to  about  191 1,  and  the  present  incumbent, 
Sylvain  Dupuis,  formerly  conductor  of  the  Opera  at  the 
Brussels  La  Monnaie.  The  appointments  of  directors 
and  professors  are  for  life,  with  a  pension  on  retirement 
for  age  or  disability  after  twenty-five  years'  service.  The 
faculty  are  thus  secured  from  financial  needs  and  enjoy 
a  tranquillity  which  enables  them  to  concentrate  on  their 
special  calling  for  which  they  have  been  specially  fitted 
by  education  and  training. 


264  MY  MEMORIES 

The  only  thing  required  of  a  prospective  pupil  is 
natural  aptitude,  which  is  determined  by  the  examination 
preliminary  to  his  acceptation,  industry,  and  progress. 
If  a  pupil  should  not  make  progress  and  make  a  good 
showing  at  the  annual  examinations  he  will  be  eliminated. 
Ambitious  and  diligent  students  are  encouraged  and  re- 
warded by  the  acclaim  of  the  government  and  the  great 
public  who  regard  the  achievements  of  its  artist  musicians 
as  an  honor  in  which  the  whole  nation  participates. 

During  the  ten  years  of  my  professorship  at  the  Royal 
Conservatoire  of  Liege,  I  would  hold  my  violin  classes 
from  January  15th  to  the  beginning  of  July,  appearing 
occasionally  in  concerts  with  orchestral  societies  in  Liege, 
Brussels,  Antwerp  and  other  cities  and  also  giving  my 
lecture  on  the  history  of  the  violin. 

At  the  Conservatoire  there  was  no  special  professor 
of  Esthetics  and  upon  each  teacher  of  the  advanced 
classes,  devolved  the  duty  of  instructing  his  pupils  in  this 
branch  and  the  history  of  his  instrument.  My  lectures 
to  my  pupils  developed  the  subject  of  the  lecture  which 
I  gave  in  public  in  two  languages ;  in  French  to  audiences 
speaking  French  and  in  English  to  those  speaking  Eng- 
lish, as  in  New  York  City  in  1908  at  Mendelssohn  Hall. 

My  lecture  began  with  the  Ravanastron,  5000  years 
B.  c,  and  traced  the  development  of  tlie  stringed  instru- 
ments down  to  the  violin  of  the  present  day,  being  pro- 
fusely illustrated  with  pictures  thrown  on  a  screen,  which 
I  explained  in  detail.  Besides  the  pictures  of  ancient  and 
modern  instruments,  I  showed  the  portraits  of  the  an- 
cient and  modern  makers  and  composers,  and  interspersed 


AirSIX'S  CLASS  AT  Till-.  l.ll'.Cl'.   K()\"  \T.  CONSl-.KX  A  Tom' 


RETURN  TO  BELGIUM  265 

the  discourse  by  playing  selections  for  the  violin,  chrono- 
logically arranged. 

This  lecture  recital  was  something  new  and  attracted 
wide  interest.  My  lecture,  as  well  as  all  the  musical 
selections,  was  given  from  memory,  without  notes,  and, 
although  it  took  about  two  and  a  half  hours  to  deliver  it, 
my  audiences  were  closely  attentive  from  first  to  last  and 
expressed  their  pleasure  at  the  novel  entertainment. 

An  American  manager  was  somewhat  skeptical  as  to 
my  ability  to  make  myself  understood  in  speaking  Eng- 
lish to  American  audiences ;  but  I  was  gratified  to  find 
myself  thoroughly  well  understood,  as  was  proved  by 
their  sustained  interest  and  the  numbers  of  persons  who 
came  to  compliment  me  after  the  lecture.  As  for  my- 
self, I  must  say  that  I  enjoyed  giving  this  illustrated  his- 
torical lecture  as  much  as  anything  I  have  ever  done  in 
the  way  of  artistic  entertainment,  and  it  was  not  fatigu- 
ing to  me,  as  the  program  was  divided  between  speaking, 
illustrating,  and  playing,  and  the  time  passed  very  rapidly. 

Concerts  of  Dumont  Lamarche  Fund 

At  Liege  there  was  a  wealthy  amateur  of  music  who 
left  a  fund  for  four  seances  of  Chamber  concerts  to  be 
given  annually  during  the  winter  season  at  which  the  most 
celebrated  organizations,  such  as  the  Joachim,  Bohemian, 
Flonzaley  quartettes,  appeared.  These  concerts  were 
free  of  cost  to  the  public  and  were  given  in  the  great  hall 
of  the  Conservatory.  It  was  always  packed  to  the  utmost 
and  those  who  came  a  little  late  missed  hearing  the  great- 
est quartette  organizations  of  the  world. 


266  MY  MEMORIES 

The  Flonzaley  quartette  is  composed  of  two  Italians 
and  two  Belgians  —  Betti,  Italian ;  Pochon,  Belgian ;  Ara, 
Italian,  and  D'Archambeau,  Belgian.  This  quartette  is 
considered  the  most  perfect,  not  only  in  Europe,  but  also 
in  America. 

During  one  of  the  years  of  my  professorship  at  the 
Conservatory  of  Liege,  I  received  a  visit  from  Arthur 
M.  Abell,  whom  I  had  known  in  New  York.  Mr.  Abell 
was  formerly  a  pupil  of  Cesar  Thomson  in  Brussels, 
a  charming  conversationalist  and  interesting  writer  on 
musical  subjects.  As  a  critic  and  analyst  of  violin  play- 
ing he  is  thoroughly  well  informed.  Abell  had  a  strong 
desire  to  be  heard  in  the  town  of  violinists,  and  I  offered 
to  arrange  a  recital  for  him  in  one  of  the  halls  of  the 
Conservatory.  He  accepted  my  offer  and  I  invited  the 
director  of  the  Conservatory,  and  all  of  the  professors, 
and  many  of  the  more  advanced  pupils.  His  audience 
was  composed  of  the  musical  elite  of  the  city,  including 
the  newspaper  critics.  Mr.  Abell's  program  was  quite 
classic.  He  played  the  G  Minor  of  Bruch,  some  old 
classic  sonata  and  two  groups  of  pieces,  entirely  from 
memory.  His  audience  was  warmly  appreciative  and 
generous  in  their  applause.  Mr.  Arthur  M.  Abell  had 
been  the  correspondent  of  the  Musical  Courier  in  Berlin 
for  many  years,  but  this  last  year  he  has  been  in  New 
York  City  and  other  cities.  His  articles  on  Music  in 
the  different  countries  after  the  War  were  highly  in- 
teresting, and  widely  read. 


Oscar  Doutreloii-  de  Try 


miza     de     Try 
LisTooriTie.June   19.1869 


RETURN  TO  BELGIUM  267 

DOUTRELON   DE   TrY 

Doutrelon  de  Try  of  Lille,  France,  was  and  is  to-day, 
the  best  friend  I  had  in  Europe.  Although  a  very  suc- 
cessful business  man,  he  was  an  enthusiastic  devotee  of 
music :  a  true  amateur ;  whose  wealth  was  largely  ex- 
pended in  promoting  musical  societies  and  in  helping 
artists;  organizing  festivals  and  in  extending  the  hos- 
pitality of  his  beautiful  Chateau  de  Lambersart,  to  many 
celebrities  such  as  Massenet,  Bizet,  Christine  Nilsson,  and 
many  others.  On  account  of  Doutrelon's  munificence 
toward  artists  and  the  propagation  of  the  art  of  music, 
we  called  him  "  le  Mecene  Lillois." 

I  met  Doutrelon  the  first  time  when  I  was  in  Lille  with 
Faure,  in  1876,  and  we  have  been  the  best  of  friends 
ever  since.  In  1901,  at  the  great  festival  of  all  the 
singing  societies  of  Belgium,  Doutrelon  was  the  delegate 
sent  by  France.  He  was  also  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
great  international  festival  which  took  place  in  Lille  in 
1902,  and  has  been  the  recipient  of  many  tokens  of  appre- 
ciation from  our  Belgian  musical  societies  and  from 
those  of  France  as  well.  For  his  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  the  art  he  has  been  decorated  with  distinguished  orders 
of  both  countries. 

Doutrelon's  wife  is  no  other  than  the  greatest  lady 
'cello  player  of  all  time,  Eliza  de  Try,  a  Belgian,  who, 
like  her  teacher,  Servais,  was  considered  the  Paganini 
of  the  'cello.  Leonard,  as  well  as  Servais,  was  enrap- 
tured with  her  playing  and  her  European  successes  were 
phenomenal.  She  came  to  America,  to  play  at  the  popu- 
lar concerts  given  in  the  Grand  Opera  House  in  1872  at 


268  MY  MEMORIES 

23rd  St.  and  8th  Ave.,  New  York  City.  These  concerts 
were  suddenly  interrupted  by  the  death  of  James  Fisk,  who 
was  killed  by  Stokes.  The  young  artist  had  in  her  pos- 
session a  letter  of  introduction  from  Leopold  II,  King  of 
Belgium,  to  his  sister  Charlotte,  Empress  of  Mexico;  to 
which  country  she  would  have  gone  to  appear  in  con- 
certs, had  not  the  project  been  rendered  impossible  by 
the  misfortune  to  the  Royal  family,  by  the  execution  of 
the  Emperor  Maximilian  of  Mexico. 

Leopold  II's  letter  is  most  interesting  and  proves  that 
this  Belgian  King,  considered  in  Europe  "  the  Diplomat 
of  Nations,''  had  foreseen  the  events  which  befell  the 
Belgian  Nation  in  1914;  for,  in  his  letter  to  his  sister 
Charlotte,  dated  1866,  he  says,  in  French,  translated: 

Chateau  de  Laeken,  July  27,  1866. 
My  dear  Charlotte: 

I  thank  you  for  your  last  letter.  I  send  you  these 
lines  by  Miss  de  Try,  a  young  artist,  under  the  protection 
of  Servais  and  Leonard,  crowned  with  success  in  Paris, 
and  first  prize  of  our  Conservatory. 

I  have  never  seen  or  heard  this  young  person ;  but  if 
you  can,  without  disturbing  yourself,  be  useful  to  her, 
perhaps  you  will  do  so. 

You  know  the  events  in  Europe:  that  beautiful  Aus- 
trian army  destroyed,  the  Prussians  are  before  Vienna 
and  Presburg,  all  that  in  less  than  thirty  days. 

Prussia  is  at  this  moment  dominant  in  Europe.  The 
Emperor  Napoleon  occupies  the  second  place,  Russia  the 
third,  and  England  last  and  even  less  than  the  last. 

Here  in  Belgium  I  am  on  my  tour  around  the  Provinces, 


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RETURN  TO  BELGIUM  269' 

and  everywhere  I  am  received  with  the  greatest  enthusi- 
asm. Our  public  spirit  has  never  been  better  or  more 
national. 

The  Regent  in  Antwerp  remains  disagreeable.  Our 
powerful  neighbors  for  the  moment  do  not  seem  to  take 
any  interest  in  us.  It  is  however  difficult  to  hope  that 
future  great  events  will  not  affect  us. 

I  would  like  to  have  a  Ministry  completely  united,  to 
put  our  army  on  a  good  footing.  Unhappily  I  cannot 
obtain  it  from  the  Cabinet,  and  our  future  is  too  de- 
pendent on  the  caprices  of  fortune. 

I  kiss  you  tenderly. 

Signed, 

Leopold, 

Note —  (It  is  a  pity  Leopold  II  could  not  have  lived 
a  few  years  longer,  to  have  seen  the  powerful  Prussians 
put  to  rout  completely,  and  the  future  of  Belgium  assured 
by  her  gallant  allies,  thanks  to  the  heroic  stand  taken  by 
Albert,  King  of  the  Belgians.) 

The  envelope  of  this  letter  was  addressed  by  the  hand 
of  the  King,  To  her  Majesty,  the  Empress  of  Mexico. 

In  1907-8,  I  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  my  mother  and 
I  then  decided,  to  the  satisfaction  of  my  wife,  to  send  in 
my  resignation  to  the  Belgian  Government  and  estab- 
lished my  Belgian  School  of  Music  in  New  York. 

It  is  to  my  wife  that  I  owe  the  fact  that  I  was  spared 
from  being  under  the  heels  of  the  Germans  who  took 
possession  of  the  town  of  Liege  in  19 14,  and  made  the 
inhabitants  their  slaves. 


270  MY  MEMORIES 

According  to  letters  received  from  my  brothers,  what 
the  Germans  could  not  steal  they  destroyed  and  that, 
when  they  were  obliged  by  the  Allies  to  leave,  the  town 
was  bare.  My  brothers  say  that  there  is  no  word  in  any 
language  strong  enough  to  express  the  atrocities  com- 
mitted by  those  barbarians. 


\ 


MRS.  ()\'IJ)K  AR-SIN 


CHAPTER  XXI 

VIOLINIST   REFLECTIONS 

Not  long  ago,  a  former  pupil  wrote  me  to  ask  if  the 
modern  violin  masters  are  superior  to  the  old  ones,  and 
my  answer  was  no.  I  take  for  example  the  Conserva- 
tory of  Paris  which  had  at  its  head  Viotti,  Rode,  Kreut- 
zer,  Baillot,  Habeneck,  the  latest  teachers  being  Remy, 
Berthelier,  Lefort,  Nadaud.  I  took  .also  for  example 
the  Conservatory  of  Brussels  which  had  Charles  de 
Beriot,  Leonard,  Vieuxtemps  and  Wieniawski,  the 
teachers  of  to-day  being  Thomson,  Cornells,  Marchot  and 
Van  ZanVoord. 

To  my  knowledge  not  one  of  the  younger  generation 
has  written  either  a  study  or  a  concerto,  although 
Kreutzer,  Rode  and  Fiorillo  wrote  their  celebrated 
studies  before  they  were  thirty-five  years  old.  Viotti, 
Kreutzer  and  Rode  composed  their  concertos  when  about 
twenty  years  old  and  upwards.  Vieuxtemps  and  Leonard 
wrote  theirs  when  still  very  young  and  left  to  posterity 
works  which  made  their  names  immortal. 

I  have  also  been  asked  if  the  modern  violin  virtuosos 
are  more  skillful  than  those  of  old  times.  I  replied 
that  from  the  technical  point  of  view  some  of  the  old 
masters  must  have  been  superior,  judging  by  the  composi- 
tions   they  wrote    and    played.     First    take    Locatelli 

271 


272  MY  MEMORIES 

(Pietro),  born  in  Italy  in  1693,  died  in  Amsterdam, 
Holland,  in  1764.  He  was  the  last  pupil  of  Corelli  and 
was  the  one  to  diverge  the  most  from  the  manner  of  his 
master  and  by  his  originality  and  audacity  he  succeeded 
in  creating  extraordinary  effects. 

It  is  surprising  that  so  little  is  known  of  the  life  of 
Locatelli,  while  his  compositions  have  given  him  so 
brilliant  a  reputation  that  his  name  is  placed  among  the 
greatest  of  the  old  classic  masters.  No  traces  of  his  ca- 
reer can  be  found  in  the  archives  of  the  big  European 
cities  and  we  know  only  that  after  Corelli's  death,  he  made 
frequently  long  concert  tours  and  finally  established  him- 
self in  Amsterdam  where  he  died  at  71  years  of  age. 
In  his  works  "  L'arte  del  Violino,"  his  "  Enigmatical 
Caprices  and  Concertos,"  he  is  considered  by  composers 
and  violin  virtuosos  to  be  the  pioneer  of  other  great 
violinists. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  violinists  of  his  time  could  not 
do  justice  to  his  compositions,  which  they  called  "  devil- 
ish," as  they  were  much  too  difficult  for  them  to  play  and 
understand.  What  placed  the  "  Enigmatical  Studies  of 
Locatelli  "  still  further  above  their  comprehension,  was 
that  this  master  had  a  way  of  writing  his  music  with  ab- 
breviations. He  would,  for  instance,  write  out  one  whole 
measure  of  a  caprice  as  it  should  be  played  and  the  rest 
of  the  measures  of  the  work  would  be  abbreviated,  which 
the  player  would  have  to  solve,  and  as  these  enigma 
caprices,  as  they  were  called,  required  an  experience  equal 
to  that  of  Locatelli  himself  in  order  to  play  them  as  he 
intended  them  to  be  played,  we  see  why  these  works  have 
been  shelved  to  a  large  extent.     But  some  of  them  are 


VIOLINIST  REFLECTIONS  273 

now  available  for  violinists  to  study  with  great  profit  and 
enjoyment. 

In  some  of  them  I  have  eliminated  the  abbreviations 
and  carried  out  every  measure  to  the  full  and  every  note 
is  written  out  as  it  ought  to  be  played,  with  the  fingering 
wherever  necessary.  In  this  work  I  must  thank  my 
brilliant  pupil,  Miss  Anna  Moya,  for  her  excellent  and 
patient  assistance. 

The  labyrin;h  and  the  study  in  D  Major  for  extensions 
of  the  third  and  fourth  fingers  in  double  stoppings,  I 
consider  the  very  best  written  and  the  most  profitable  to 
study.  Locatelli  has  been  to  modern  violinists  from 
Paganini  down  what  Hector  Berlioz  was  in  orchestral  ef- 
fects to  Wagner,  Liszt  and  younger  composers  for  or- 
chestra. 

Paganini 

Born  in  Genoa  in  1784,  died  in  Nice,  France,  in  1840. 

So  much  has  been  written  about  this  great  genius  that 
I  shall  relate  only  a  few  incidents  which  are  not  in  any 
encyclopedia.  Camillo  Sivori,  the  only  pupil  of  Paga- 
nini and  at  that  time  the  most  celebrated  Italian  virtuoso, 
was  a  friend  of  Leonard,  and  I  met  him  often  at  Leon- 
ard's home  in  Paris,  and  although  much  younger  than 
he,  Sivori  took  some  liking  to  me  and  we  were  together 
pretty  often.  He  was  living  in  Rue  de  Trevise  in  a 
hotel  and  I  was  living  in  Rue  Cadet,  just  one  block  dis- 
tant. I  used  to  go  to  see  him  very  often  when  he  was  in 
Paris  and  I  always  turned  the  conversation  to  Paganini. 
He  told  me  how  charming  the  great  violinist  was  to  him 
and  also  about  his  Guarnerius  del  Gesu  given  to  him  by 


274  MY  MEMORIES 

an  amateur  and  how  he  tuned  his  vioHn  just  half  a  tone 
higher  than  usual  to  F-Bb-Eb  and  Ab,  instead  of  having 
his  violin  tuned  as  we  do  to  E  A  D  G,  and  he  used  very 
thin  strings.  In  his  concerto  in  D  the  orchestra  was 
playing  in  E^  The  effect  was  striking  for  the  other 
violinist,  also  for  the  public. 

I  read  a  few  critiques  on  Paganini  by  Guhr,  a  German 
violinist  and  critic  who  criticized  him  for  his  tone  al- 
though recognizing  his  wonderful  technique. 

It  is  only  comparatively  recently  —  a  few  years  —  that 
a  violinist  virtuoso  could  dra,w  a  good  house  in  Europe  or 
in  America.  For  example,  Vieuxtemps,  Sarasate,  Wil- 
hemj,  Wieniawski,  had  to  get  the  help  of  a  pianist  of  repu- 
tation or  a  cantatrice  of  renown.  Paganini  made  all  Eu- 
rope run  to  hear  him  no  matter  in  what  capitals  or  towns  of 
any  size  he  appeared.  Sivori  told  me  that  his  tone  was 
powerful  and  luscious  and  that  he  played  all  his  pieces  as 
he  wrote  them.  Sivori's  "  piece  de  resistance  "  was  the 
finale  of  the  2nd  Concerto  of  Paganini,  called  "  La  Clo- 
chette,"  but  Sivori  was  a  small  man  with  short  fingers,  and 
he  was  obliged  to  arrange  many  things  in  the  double  har- 
monics and  when  the  stretching  was  too  big  for  his  small 
hands.  He  showed  me  how  Paganini  fingered  the  scales 
which  I  have  adopted  in  my  revision  of  the  Belgian 
School  of  Violin. 

Other  great  virtuosos  of  the  olden  times  were  Hein- 
rich  Ernst,  born  in  Austria,  and  Ferdinand  Laub,  a  Bo- 
hemian violinist,  whom  I  heard  once  in  Liege,  when  I  was 
a  boy,  and  who  left  a  tremendous  impression  on  account 
of  his  stupendous  technique.     He  was  at  that  time  teacher 


VIOLINIST  REFLECTIONS  275 

at  the  Conservatory  of  Moscow.  I  remember  that  many- 
years  after  the  vioHn  teachers  were  still  talking  about 
Laub. 

Belgian  School  of  Violin  Playing 

An  unscrupulous  musician  wrote  about  three  years  ago 
in  a  musical  magazine  that  the  Belgian  School  of  Violin 
playing  did  not  exist,  and  to  refute  the  assertion  I  took 
down  my  old  books  and  hunted  up  historical  facts  to  prove 
that  the  Belgian  school  had  existed  since  very  ancient 
times  and  also  published  four  books  of  the  Belgian  School 
from  the  first  principles  to  the  highest  virtuosity. 

Some  Historical  Facts 

When  we  say  a  school  is  French,  German,  Italian  or 
Russian,  what  is  meant  by  the  term? 

A  "  school  "  means  the  disciples  of  a  man  of  genius, 
superior  knowledge  and  of  new  ideas,  the  value  of  which 
he  demonstrated  and  taught  to  his  pupils  who  handed 
down  their  knowledge  to  succeeding  generations.  It  is 
true  that  a  Belgian  school  exists  and  has  existed  from 
ancient  times  and  furthermore  that  other  schools  were 
derived  from  the  ancient  masters  who  went  from  the  low 
countries  to  Italy,  Spain,  France,  Germany,  Austria  and 
even  to  the  Court  of  Peter  the  Great  in  Russia,  where 
they  demonstrated  their  advancements  in  the  science  and 
art  of  composition,  singing  and  playing  of  musical  in- 
struments, and  where  they  founded  schools  which  were 
the  source  of  our-  modern  development,  irrespective  of 
T^ationality. 

Charles  de  Beriot,  born  in  Louvain-,  Belgium,  was  the 


276  MY  MEMORIES 

teacher  of  Henri  Vieuxtemps.  With  very  few  excep- 
tions, all  the  greatest  violinists  since  De  Beriot  have  been 
graduated  from  the  Royal  Conservatory  of  Liege  or  have 
been  taught  by  masters  of  this  school. 

Among  the  products  of  this  school  may  be  listed  such 
artists  as  Henri  Leonard,  Lambert  Massart,  Eugene 
Ysaye,  Martin  Marsick,  Cesar  Thomson,  Emile  Sauret, 
Fritz  Kreisler,  Jeno  Hubay,  Jacques  Thibaud,  Carl 
Flesch,  etc. 

Going  further  back  into  musical  history,  a  few  names 
will  serve,  to  prove  the  antiquity  of  the  Belgian  school. 

A  monk  named  Hucbald,  840,  of  the  Convent  of  St. 
Amand,  near  Tournai,  Belgium,  is  called  the  father  of 
primitive  or  ancient  harmony.  But  the  true  founders  of 
the  first  school  of  music  in  Rome  (1549)  were  the  two 
musicians  from  the  Netherlands,  Arkadelt  and  Goudi- 
mel.  From  this  school  came  Palestrina,  Animuccia, 
Nanini,  Allegri,  composer  of  the  celebrated  "  Miserere," 
who  was  a  pupil  of  Nanini.  This  was  before  the  violin, 
as  we  know  it  to-day,  had  appeared,  and  from  one  hun- 
dred to  two  hundred  years  before  Corelli,  Tartini,  Loca- 
telli  and  Viotti  were  born. 

In  1540  appears  Jean  de  Ockegem,  born  in  Hainaut, 
Belgium.  One  of  his  pupils  was  Josquin  des  Pres  (called 
the  father  of  modern  harmony),  Chapel  Master  of  the 
Vatican,  Rome.  Another  illustrious  representative  of 
the  ancient  Belgian  School  in  Italy,  was  Rolland  de  Latre 
(also  called  Orlando  Lasso),  born  at  Mons,  Belgium, 
1520.  At  twenty-one,  he  was  Director  of  the  Church 
of  St.  John  Lateran  at  Rome.     He  traveled  in  France, 


VIOLINIST  REFLECTIONS  277 

in  England,  and  in  1557,  was  called  to  the  court  of 
Bavaria  where  he  died  in  1594. 

Franco,  called  in  Belgium  Frank,  of  the  Cathedral  of 
Liege  (1066)  was  the  inventor  of  modern  rhythm. 

Dumont,  born  in  Liege  (1610),  was  the  first  to  use 
thorough  bass  in  his  compositions. 

The  above  brief  sketch  of  a  few  historical  facts  from 
authentic  records  should  settle  the  question  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  Belgian  school  in  music  from  antiquity 
down  to  the  predominance  of  the  Belgian  school  of  violin 
since   1827. 

The  Belgian  School  of  Violin 

My  edition  of  the  Belgian  Violin  School  in  four  vol- 
umes from  the  first  principles  to  the  highest  virtuosity  by 
Leonard,  with  additional  studies  of  my  own,  has  been 
so  far  a  very  big  success  and  is  used  by  hundreds  of 
teachers  all  over  the  world. 

In  revising  somewhat  these  studies,  I  did  so  with  no 
idea  of  improving  upon  Leonard's  school  (which  could 
not  be  in  any  respect  bettered  by  any  one)  but  to  facili- 
tate their  comprehension  by  the  student  and  render  easier 
the  task  of  the  teacher. 

Leonard  was  called  chief  of  the  Belgian  school  for 
the  reason  that  he  so  perfected  the  science  and  art  of 
bowing  as  to  produce  a  more  voluminous  and  singing 
tone,  and  the  use  of  the  whole  bow  from  frog  to  tip  and 
vice  versa.  Furthermore,  his  books  cover  the  whole  field 
of  violin  instruction.  There  are  many  authors  who  cover 
certain  phases,  but  Leonard  was  the  only  master  who 


278  MY  MEMORIES 


/ 


covered  the  entire  field  from  A  to  Z  in  a  concentrated 
form,  comprising  every  essential,  but  eliminating  every 
non-essential  as  a  great  waste  of  time.  Leonard  was  not 
only  a  great,  if  not  the  greatest  of  all  pedagogues,  but 
also  a  great  player.  He  was  the  first  to  play  that  classic, 
the  Mendelssohn  Concerto,  in  Germany  at  Berlin,  with 
the  illustrious  composer  himself  conducting  the  orchestra. 
Leonard's  method  was  designed  to  develop  equally  and 
with  uniformity  the  bowing,  technic,  style,  musical 
knowledge  and  comprehension  in  order  to  make  a  com- 
plete artist,  which  cannot  be  accomplished  where  one  fea- 
ture such  as  technic  of  the  left  hand  is  specialized  to  the 
detriment  of  the  bowing. 

The  three  reasons  why  the  great  works  of  Henri  Leon- 
ard (called  Hubert  Leonard  in  many  encyclopedias) 
are  less  known  in  the  English-speaking  countries  are : 

1.  His  books  are  in  French. 

2.  The  markings  of  Fingering  and  Bowing  are 
very  few. 

3.  Being  European  editions,  they  are  very  expen- 
sive. 

Furthermore,  by  my  new  edition,  the  work  of  the  teacher 
will  be  made  much  easier  by  the  fact  that  he  will  not  have 
to  lose  time  in  marking  the  fingerings  and  the  easy  second 
violin  accompaniment  will  enable  him  to  keep  his  eyes  on 
the  pupil  all  the  time. 

My  Ten  Commandments  for  Young  Aspiring 
Violin  Students 

1.  Begin  young. 

2.  Seek  a  good  teacher. 


^^^^^^^ 


^^ 


^^ 


yfr-.y^X^  '  vi^> ;  '^^  f-i-'ru  7 Y-js/iiii  ii'^Ji  il 


VIOLINIST  REFLECTIONS  279 

3.  Take  at  least  two  full  lessons  every  week. 

4.  Practice  from  three  to  five  hours  every  day. 

5.  Practice  mentally,  as  well  as  with  the  fingers  and 
bow. 

6.  Practice  scales  every  day. 

7.  Practice  slowly  (for  control,  flexibility,  strength  and 
endurance). 

8.  Listen  to  yourself. 

9.  Exercise  your  memory  from  the  very  beginning. 

10.  Learn  the  science  of  music,  solfeggio,  harmony, 
sight-reading  (indispensable). 

Essentials 

Natural  gift  for  music. 
Aptitude  for  the  violin. 
Love  of  work. 
Perseverance. 
Self-control  in  public. 
A  good  instrument. 

The  Violin 

It  was  in  the  i6th  century  that  the  violin  suddenly  ap- 
peared in  its  present  form.  As  to  the  subject  of  the  in- 
ventor everything  is  contradictory.  Of  conjectures 
there  are  a  plenty  but  of  certainty  there  is  none.  The 
antiquity  of  the  violin  has  always  been  a  subject  of  dis- 
pute among  savants. 

Whence  came  the  violin  ?  No  one  knows.  Who  made 
it?  We  are  equally  ignorant.  Some  say  that  it  was 
Duiffoprugar  at  Bologna.  Others  that  it  was  Caspar  da 
Salo  at  Brescia,  and  still  others  that  it  was  Andreas 


28o  MY  MEMORIES 

Amati  at  Cremona.  All  however  agree  that  in  the  1 6th 
century  two  large  schools  of  instrument  making  were 
formed;  one  of  them  at  Brescia,  having  as  its  chief  Caspar 
da  Salo,  and  the  other  at  Cremona,  founded  by  Andreas 
Amati.  These  two  schools  immediately  arrived  to  a  de- 
gree of  skill  in  making  instruments  of  the  violin  family 
which  has  never  been  surpassed  or  ever  equaled,  and  the 
violin  seems  to  have  been  born  perfect.  The  violin  which 
the  Apollo  of  Raphael  plays  is  for  shape  and  size  the 
same  as  it  is  now.  See  what  progress  has  been  made  in 
modern  times  by  makers  of  other  instruments.  See  how 
piano  manufacturers  have  improved  the  shrill,  pitiful  thin 
tone  of  the  spinet,  the  ancestor  of  the  piano;  and  what 
a  revolution  has  taken  place  in  wind  instruments,  in  con- 
trast to  what  they  once  were,  when  the  art  was  in  its 
infancy.  As  much  as  modern  pianos,  cornets,  clarinets, 
etc.,  are  superior  to  anything  formerly  made,  so  are  the 
violins  of  the  Amatis,  Stradivarius,  and  Guarnerius  su- 
perior to  the  best  work  of  modern  makers,  which  is  a 
contradiction  to  the  doctrine  of  progress;  for  the  violin 
as  it  appeared  in  all  its  perfection  in  1550  has  not  been 
improved  upon  in  more  than  three  centuries,  and  no  one 
has  ever  arrived  to  the  same  degree  of  perfection  in 
stringed  instrument  making  as  the  old  Italian  masters. 
All  the  scientific  problems  essential  to  their  perfection  of 
form  and  tone  had  been  worked  out  to  a  perfect  solu- 
tion by  the  inventor  whoever  he  was.  On  the  back  of 
one  of  the  Duiffoprugar  'cellos  was  inscribed  the  follow- 
ing: 

"  I  lived  in  the  forest  until  I  was  slain  by  the 


VIOLINIST  REFLECTIONS  281 

relentless  axe.     Whilst  alive  I  was  silent,  but 
in  death  I  became  sonorous  and  melodious." 

There  is  much  food  for  thought  in  this  allegory,  which 
seems  to  point  out  what  the  puny  creative  power  of  man 
may  accomplish,  from  the  material  aspect,  and  from  the 
spiritual  point  of  view,  demonstrates  the  continuity  of 
the  soul  of  man  after  death. 

The  Bow 

For  over  a  thousand  years  the  bow  remained  in  a  rudi- 
mentary shape,  being  highly  arched.  During  the  i6th 
century  it  still  retained  the  form  of  an  arc  and  was  called 
I'arco.  Corelli  in  the  17th  century  made  it  more  flexi- 
ble and  Tartini  at  the  beginning  of  the  i8th  century 
improved  it  also,  but  it  was  Francois  Lupot,  the  father 
of  Nicolas  Lupot,  who  during  the  i8th  century  sup- 
pressed the  arc  for  a  stick  almost  straight.  Then 
Francois  Tourte  flattened  the  hair,  made  the  bow  more 
supple  and  solid  and  bent  the  stick  toward  the  hair.  J. 
B.  Vuillaume,  of  Paris,  invented  the  fixed  frog,  and  the 
efforts  of  Tourte  united  to  the  invention  of  the  fixed 
frog  gives  the  perfect  bow  of  to-day.  I  can  not  resist 
telling  an  amusing  description  of  the  violin  and  the  bow 
given  in  the  exclamation  of  a  fiddler  of  ancient  times,  who 
said,  "  Heaven  reward  the  man  whoever  he  was  who  first 
hit  the  idea  of  sawing  the  insides  of  a  cat  with  the  tail  of 
a  horse." 


282  MY  MEMORIES 

An  Interesting  Letter  of  Tartini 

Teaching  by  Correspondence. 

This  is  a  translation  by  Dr.  Burney  in  1779,  of  this 
remarkable  Tartini  letter  to  one  of  his  pupils,  addressed 
to  Madelena  Lombardini. 

Padua,  March  5,   1760. 
My  very  much  esteemed  Signora  Madelena : 

I  shall  begin  the  instruction  you  wish  from  me,  by  let- 
ter, and  if  I  should  not  explain  myself  with  sufficient 
clearness,  I  entreat  you  tell  me  your  doubts  and  difficul- 
ties, in  writing,  which  I  shall  not  fail  to  remove  in  a  fu- 
ture letter. 

(This  letter,  which  takes  at  least  eight  pages  with  a 
few  examples  in  music,  proves  that  the  violin  in  the 
eighteenth  century  was  taught  by  correspondence). 

There  were  others  before  Tartini.  Monteclair,  in 
171 1,  and  Dupont,  of  Paris,  who  in  1740,  wrote  "  Prin- 
ciples of  violin  playing  by  questions  and  answers,  whereby 
persons  may  learn  by  themselves  to  play  the  instrument." 
Naturally  pictures  and  exercises  on  perfect  intonation  are 
absolutely  indispensable. 

Letter  from  Camille  Saint-Saens 

Translation  of  a  letter  from  Camille  Saint- 
Saens  to  Ovide  Musin,  57  West  76  Street, 
New  York,  dated  April  15,  ipip,  Rue  de 
Coiircelles,  8j  bis,  i/th  Ar. 

My  dear  Friend : 

I  have  written  so  many  letters  lately  that  I  cannot  re- 


U  i>^^       /j      /^  u 


^/    /y/f 


e^    /.•a--^/•v^       ,x^a-v         ^^u.v^      ^^^.-.     ^,V-ft><oV^-^    «^->-     -^A  . 
^..   ^..     ^.v.. 


'V  *.!/*-    t(?        cu~'h^ 


jLc      cuS^'Ji^'       *  ^y^  - 


sia'oxi)  lilttj-'.k  of  s.vix'r-SAi'iNs 


•f^ 


JU- 


^       .^.> 


A 


/.^   J'^.^^,^.^^ 


^     -;i- 


^' 


^ 


c/- 


B 


VIOLINIST  REFLECTIONS  283 

member  exactly  if  I  have  written  to  you  or  if  I  only  had 
the  intention  of  doing  so.  It  seems  to  me  though  that  I 
told  you  the  great  pleasure  your  letter  gave  me  and  my 
regret  that  the  excessive  heat  prevented  my  making  a 
visit  to  Mme.  Musin  during  my  last  sojourn  in  the  United 
States ;  but  I  do  not  remember  to  have  written  you  about 
my  Concerto  in  B  minor.  Schirmer  has  made  an  edition 
of  it  arranged  by  Sauret.  He  thought  no  doubt  that  this 
Concerto,  written  by  a  pianist,  needed  a  violinist  to  give 
it  the  last  touches.  He  (Schirmer)  evidently  did  not 
know  that  this  Concerto  was  written  for  Sarasate  and 
was  entirely  under  his  control,  and  that  it  does  not  con- 
tain one  detail  which  was  not  approved  by  my  illustrious 
friend  Sarasate.  The  inscription  "  Authorized  "  put  on 
the  title  page,  leads  one  to  suppose  that  all  the  changes 
made  by  Sauret  were  also  authorized,  which  was  not  the 
case.  Schirmer  was  authorized  by  Durand,  Paris,  to  pub- 
lish my  work,  but  he  had  no  authority  to  go  any  further. 
The  French  edition  only  is  authentic.  Sauret  was  not 
satisfied  in  changing  the  bowing  alone,  but  he  has  com- 
pletely modified  certain  passages  which,  with  my  own 
fingering,  produce  a  very  original  effect.  For  instance, 
by  substituting 


he  has  made  a  change  which  is  ordinary  and  easier  to  play, 
but  which  does  not  produce  the  effect  I  intended  at  all. 
Play  it  my  way  and  you  will  see  that  it  produces  a  glis- 


I 


284  MY  MEMORIES 

sando  which  is  an  altogether  different  effect  from  the 
other,  which  is  banal.  So  there  it  is.  As  I  have  already 
told  you,  and  I  repeat  it,  I  have  never  forgotten  the  old 
days  and  you  will  always  remain  one  of  my  favorites  and 
you  will  be  received  with  open  arms  if  you  should  have 
the  happy  thought  to  come  to  Paris  one  of  these  days. 

Your  old  friend, 

C.  Saint-Saens, 

Felix  Renard's  Berceuse 

In  line  with  this  subject  (Saint-Saens),  which  has  given 
European  composers  and  their  publishers  cause  for  com- 
plaint against  American  firms,  is  an  affair  the  truth  about 
which  I  now  take  occasion  to  state. 

A  friend  of  mine,  Felix  Renard,  of  Huy,  Belgium,  a 
violinist  and  former  pupil  of  Leonard,  wrote  a  Berceuse 
which  was  published  by  Gevaert,  a  publisher  of  Liege. 
Renard  asked  me  to  play  it  on  my  American  tours  and  I 
used  it  as  an  encore  selection  during  several  of  my  tours 
in  the  United  States,  and  as  these  were  each  year  on  dif- 
ferent routes  and  the  Berceuse  always  made  a  hit  with 
the  public,  every  one  who  could  fiddle  a  little  was  playing 
it,  and  the  sales,  it  seems,  were  quite  large.  I  had  used  a 
manuscript  copy  for  my  pianist  and  was  surprised  to 
learn,  in  a  roundabout  way,  that  an  American  music  house 
had  published  an  American  edition  and  was  making  the 
sales  and  naturally  the  profits,  while  the  European  pub- 
lisher and  the  composer  received  nothing. 

One  summer,  when  I  was  back  in  Liege  for  a  visit, 
Renard  came  to  see  me,  in  company  with  his  wife,  and 
with  Mrs.  Musin  present,  went  over  the  matter  of  his 
Berceuse. 


VIOLINIST  REFLECTIONS  285 

"  Here  am  I,  the  composer,"  he  said,  "  and  Gevaert, 
the  publisher.  You  made  it  popular  in  America  and  it 
was  taken  away  from  us  by  others  without  leave  or  li- 
cense and  they  make  money  on  it  in  America  and  we  get 
nothing.     What  shall  I  do  about  it  ?  " 

We  agreed  that  the  only  way  would  be  to  have  an 
American  firm  publish  it  in  a  new  form,  with  certain 
changes  as  it  was  played  by  me,  with  my  name  included 
on  the  title  page  as  a  reminder  that  it  was  the  Renard 
Berceuse  played  and  made  known  and  popular  by  Ovide 
Musin.  I  agreed  to  have  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  make  the 
new  edition. 

Renard  gave  me  carte  blanche  as  to  arrangements,  title, 
etc.,  with  the  publishers,  with  a  view  to  securing  to  him 
some  returns  on  his  work. 

On  coming  over  from  my  tour,  I  left  the  matter  in 
the  hands  of  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  and  started  traveling. 
With  the  best  intentions  in  the  world  toward  Felix  Re- 
nard, I  must  confess  that  his  Berceuse  did  not  occupy  a 
paramount  place  in  my  mind,  as  I  had  plenty  to  do  in 
attending  to  my  own  tour,  traveling  every  day,  and  I  was 
glad  to  board  the  ship  for  Belgium,  scarcely  stopping  a 
day  in  New  York,  so  that  it  never  occurred  to  me  to  call 
on  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  to  see  how  the  Berceuse  was 
selling. 

I  should  say  further  that  previous  to  my  arrangements 
with  Renard  as  to  the  new  publication,  I  had  not  played 
the  piece  for  some  time,  having  compositions  of  my 
own  on  my  programs  and  as  pieces  for  encore,  so  it  will 
be  readily  understood  why  the  matter  slipped  from  my 
mind. 


286  MY  MEMORIES 

I  got  back  to  Liege  and  one  day  on  the  street  I  saw  the 
Renards,  but  they  did  not  seem  to  see  me.  I  thought 
nothing  of  it,  however,  until,  on  later  occasions,  it  be- 
came evident  that  there  was  a  decided  intention  on  their 
part  to  cut  me. 

I  was  puzzled,  but  it  did  not  disturb  me  and  it  never 
occurred  to  me  that  the  Berceuse  was  the  cause.  I  knew, 
of  course,  that  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  would  send  along 
their  annual  statements  and  on  receiving  them,  Renard 
would  come  in  for  his  share  of  anything  over  and  above 
the  cost  of  publication. 

But  one  day  I  received  a  letter  from  Renard  which 
was  positively  insulting.  It  conveyed  the  idea  that  he  felt 
he  was  being  robbed  by  me,  that  I  was  gathering  in 
shekels  of  wealth  derived  from  sales  of  his  composition, 
and  demanded  an  accounting. 

I  wrote  at  once  to  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  telling  them 
to  send  a  statement  to  Renard  as  to  the  expense  of  pub- 
lication and  receipts,  together  with  the  engraved  plates 
and  remainder  of  unsold  copies.  Renard  received  these 
in  a  short  time  and  the  expense  fell  on  me,  as  the  sales 
consisted  of  only  35  copies. 

This  was  a  terrible  blow  to  Renard  in  view  of  his 
suspicions  of  my  honesty  which  I  had  reason  to  know 
he  had  not  kept  to  himself  but  which  had  been  a  matter 
of  gossip  among  his  friends.  At  any  rate,  Renard  did 
the  right  thing  in  the  end,  for,  at  a  public  examination  at 
the  Liege  Conservatoire,  when  a  number  of  the  professors 
and  members  of  the  jury  were  gathered  in  the  foyer,  as 
I  came  along  he  rushed  up  and  embraced  me  and  with 
tears  in  his  eyes,  begged  my  pardon  before  the  crowd. 


Uj 


■Tl 


O 


o 


VIOLINIST  REFLECTIONS  287 

I  must  say  that,  although  I  forgave  Renard,  it  is  more 
than  likely  that  no  one  in  America  would  ever  have  heard 
his  Berceuse  except  for  me.  Still  I  have  not  forgotten 
his  misjudgment  of  me  which  was  quite  inexcusable,  as 
we  had  been  friends  from  boyhood  and  companions  at  the 
Conservatoire. 

Misleading  Advertisements 

There  are  teachers  who  advertise  themselves  as  repre- 
senting some  prominent  teacher:  as  though  such  a  thing 
were  possible,  and  many  students  are  duped  by  this  false 
idea. 

A  great  teacher  has  his  knowledge  and  experience  which 
he  uses  to  the  best  advantage  for  the  pupil,  according  to 
the  requirements  of  each  and  every  one.  I  quote  from 
one  of  the  oldest  pupils  of  Leschetizky,  who  said  "  noth- 
ing irritates  the  old  Master  so  much  as  this  expression 
—  Leschetizky  Method  or  system  "  and  he  said  "  only 
charlatans  use  it." 

A  professor  of  a  University,  for  one  hour's  teaching,  is 
often  obliged  to  study  his  subject  for  two  days  in  order 
to  prepare  the  subject  matter  for  that  hour;  but  in  the 
case  of  a  teacher  of  piano  or  violin  it  is  only  from  what 
he  hears  the  pupil  do  during  the  lesson,  that  he  will  be  able 
to  make  his  observations  and  corrections,  and  every  pupil 
being  different,  his  system  or  method  will  change  accord- 
ing to  the  pupil  he  hears,  so  no  one  can  say  with  truth 
that  he  or  she  represents  a  Master  teacher.  This  is  a 
catch-penny  way  of  getting  business,  and  is  used  only 
in  America,  by  persons  who  have  no  records  of  their 
own  to  show,  of  an  artistic  career,  or  as  players  before  the 
great  public. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

AGREEABLE    RECOLLECTION 

Among  the  thousand  and  one  concerts  at  which  I 
have  played,  there  is  one  which  I  shall  never  forget,  for 
the  reason  that  it  afforded  me  perhaps  the  greatest  amount 
of  artistic  satisfaction  of  any  one  of  them.  This  was 
my  appearance  in  Vienna  at  the  Philharmonic  Society, 
in  1880.  The  affair  was  a  contribution  to  musical  his- 
tory, in  that  the  "  Academisch  Overture  "  of  Brahms  was 
played  for  the  first  time. 

The  program  was  composed  of  three  numbers  only: 

1.  Academisch  Overture,  (ist  audition),  Brahms. 

2.  Concerto  for  Violin,  Beethoven. 

3.  Symphonic  No.  4,  Volckmann. 

Although  the  concert  began  at  noon,  the  hall  was 
packed.  The  Philharmonic  Orchestra  was  considered 
the  best  in  Europe,  Hans  Richter  was  the  conductor  and 
it  was  an  event  for  any  young  artist  to  appear  with  this 
society.  The  next  day  I  received  a  letter  from  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  the  Philharmonic  Society,  signed  by  Hans 
Richter,  which  complimented  me  on  my  performance  of 
the  Beethoven  Concerto,  which  explains  my  artistic  satis- 
faction. The  Overture  of  Brahms  was  well  received; 
also  the  Symphony  No.  4  of  Volckmann. 

288 


AGREEABLE  RECOLLECTION  289 

Cardinal  Mercier's  Reception 

His  Eminence  Cardinal  Mercier's  reception  for  the 
Belgians  at  the  Hotel  Astor,  New  York,  on  the  evening 
of  Sept.  19th,  was  the  occasion  never  to  be  forgotten  by 
those  who  could  get  into  the  hall  to  hear  the  Cardinal 
speak. 

The  Belgian  Bureau  of  New  York,  through  its  chief, 
Monseigneur  Stillemans,  sent  invitations  to  the  Belgians 
of  the  city  to  attend  the  reception,  and  I  need  not  say 
that  the  large  room  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity 
to  welcome  the  great  Belgian. 

Monseigneur  Stillemans  introduced  His  Eminence  to 
the  audience  in  an  eloquent  address,  and  when  the  Car- 
dinal arose  to  reply,  the  applause  was  such  that  for  fully 
ten  minutes  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  utter  a  word. 

When  the  enthusiastic  demonstration,  aroused  by  the 
actual  presence  of  this  heroic  man,  had  finally  subsided 
sufficiently  to  enable  him  to  be  heard,  the  Cardinal  ad- 
dressed the  people  in  three  languages,  English,  Flemish 
and  French. 

In  English  he  said  in  part :  "  I  come  as  a  Belgian,  in 
the  name  of  the  whole  people,  both  Catholic  and  Pro- 
testant, to  convey  to  the  people  of  America  their  grati- 
tude and  my  admiration  and  love  because  of  what  you 
have  done  for  us  all.  I  feel  that  my  arrival  here  is  one 
of  the  greatest  events  of  my  life,  and  I  only  wish  that  I 
could  at  least  adequately  express  the  gratitude  of  Belgium 
to  America  and  her  people." 

Cardinal  Mercier  then  went  on  to  say :  "  My  people 
wish  to  begin  to  work  for  themselves  again.     They  want 


290  MY  MEMORIES 

to  take  up  their  industrial  life  as  soon  as  possible.  We 
know  that  America  will  help  us  to  help  ourselves,  to  get 
back  our  industry  again,"  and  further,  "  I  hope  that  our 
two  nations,  one  so  weak  and  the  other  so  strong,  will 
walk  together  hand  in  hand,  the  weak  supported  by  the 
friendship  of  your  wonderful  Republic. 

"  I  would  like  to  go  everywhere  in  America  to  express 
my  thoughts  to  the  people;  but  I  cannot  go  everywhere, 
and  the  newspapers  must  convey  my  message  for  me. 
I  have  followed  the  magnificent  records  of  your  armies. 
We  knew  God  would  not  forsake  us.  We  knew  the 
hand  of  America  would  strike  on  our  behalf,  and  our 
faith,  our  supreme  faith  which  held  us  intact  during  the 
darkest  hours  of  depression,  was  not  shaken. 

"  The  kind  words  and  great  compliments  which  have 
been  given  me  are  almost  too  much.  I  accept  them  not 
as  though  they  were  meant  for  me ;  but  because  I  am 
representing  Belgium." 

The  second  speech  was  in  Flemish,  of  which  I  did  not 
understand  one  word;  but  judging  from  the  applause 
there  must  have  been  many  Flemish  people  in  the  audi- 
ence. 

The  third  address  was  in  French  and  described  the 
events  of  the  war  from  1914  to  the  collapse  of  the  Ger- 
man power.  In  concise  language  His  Eminence  told  of 
the  German  invasion  of  Belgium  at  the  small  town  of 
Vise,  where  they  massacred  civilians,  women  and  chil- 
dren, setting  fire  to  the  houses,  so  that  what  was  once 
a  peaceful  town  is  now  but  a  mass  of  stone  and  brick. 

He  told  us  of  his  visit  to  Dinant,  formerly  a  town  of 
six  thousand  inhabitants,  where  six  hundred  and  fifty 


AGREEABLE  RECOLLECTION     291 

civilians,  women  and  children  were  killed,  on  the  pretext 
that  they  had  fired  on  the  German  army.  This  the 
Cardinal  denied.  He  told  us  of  so  many  cruelties  it  is 
impossible  for  me  to  even  begin  to  enumerate  them. 

Fifty-nine  priests  were  killed  in  Belgium  during  the 
war,  for  no  reason  whatever  but  as  a  part  of  the  ruthless 
campaign  of  utter  destruction  which  the  enemy  had 
adopted  from  the  start. 

When  the  Germans  began  expatriating  the  Belgians, 
they  were  told  that  to  all  who  would  sign  an  agreement 
to  become  German,  an  allowance  would  be  given  to  their 
families;  but  all  of  these  brave  Belgians  adopted  the 
slogan  "  I  will  not  sign."  Their  wives  went  out  to  a  hill 
past  which  the  train  would  go  which  carried  their  hus- 
bands away,  and  shouted  to  them,  "  Do  not  sign !  Do 
not  sign." 

The  Cardinal  also  told  of  the  little  paper  called  "  La 
libre  Belgique "  (Free  Belgium).  Although  every  ef- 
fort was  made  to  suppress  that  paper,,  by  spies  and  ar- 
rests, imprisonments  and  killings,  it  still  appeared  quite 
regularly  and  the  enemy  were  never  able  to  discover 
where  it  was  printed  or  by  whom ;  but  very  often  the  Ger- 
man Governor  would  find  it  on  his  desk. 

Although  His  Eminence  used  no  dramatic  gestures  and 
did  not  raise  his  voice,  what  he  told  us  was  often  so  ter- 
rible that  the  whole  audience  shivered  with  horror,  and 
no  one  could  have  doubted  for  an  instant  that  this  great 
man  told  the  simple  truth  as  to  the  hideous  way  the  Ger- 
mans conducted  the  war  in  Belgium, 


292  MY  MEMORIES 

Albert,  King  of  Belgium 

On  Thursday,  Oct.  3rd,  I  was  called  to  the  telephone 
to  receive  a  message  from  the  Belgian  Bureau,  that  the 
King  of  the  Belgians  would  be  there  at  five  p.  m.  It  was 
then  four  o'clock  and  I  had  just  time  to  dress  and  take 
a  taxi  in  order  to  be  present  at  the  reception. 

The  offices  of  the  Belgian  Bureau  are  at  431  West 
47th  Street,  and  it  was  in  a  large  room  there  that  this 
impromptu  gathering  took  place,  and  owing  to  the  short 
notice  given  of  the  visit  of  the  King,  there  were  not  many- 
present;  but  what  we  lacked  in  numbers  was  made  up 
for  in  enthusiasm,  and  the  moment  the  King  appeared, 
lusty  Belgian  throats  shouted,  Vive  le  Roi !  Vive  la  Bel- 
gique !     Vive  le  Roi ! 

King  Albert  was  visibly  touched  by  the  warmth  of 
sentiment  and  devotion  of  his  subjects  thus  expressed  in 
their  greeting,  and  said,  "  I  am  deeply  touched  by  this 
manifestation  of  loyalty.  As  soon  as  I  arrived  here  I 
wished  to  come  among  my  countrymen  living  in  New 
York.  I  am  proud  of  them,  and  I  thank  you  for  your 
devotion.  I  hope  that  the  Belgian  colony  here  will  im- 
prove the  prosperity  of  Belgium  under  those  who  preside 
over  this  free  country." 

The  King  took  this  opportunity  to  decorate  Monsieur 
Pierre  Mali,  our  Consul  General  in  New  York,  with  the 
order  of  Commander  of  the  "  Order  of  Leopold,"  and 
upon  Mgr.  Stillemans  he  bestowed  the  Order  of  "  Knight 
of  the  Crown,"  a  very  impressive  ceremony. 

King  Albert  remembered  me  very  well  and  told  me  so. 
The  last  time  I  played  before  His  Majesty  was  at  Brus- 


AGREEABLE  RECOLLECTION     293 

sels  in  an  official  concert  at  the  opera  house,  La  Mon- 
naie,  when  he,  as  Prince  Albert,  and  all  his  Ministers 
were  present.  Eugene  Ysaye  was  there  also,  on  his  way 
from  Europe  to  Cincinnati,  and  as  we  had  not  seen  each 
other  for  some  years,  we  left  the  reception  together  and 
chatted  of  old  times  and  when  we  were  boys  at  Liege. 
We  were  so  under  the  patriotic  spell  caused  by  the  visit 
of  the  King  and  the  gathering  of  our  compatriots,  that 
as  we  parted  we  simultaneously  exclaimed : 

Vive     le     Roi!     Vive     la     Belgique!     et     Vive 
l'Amerique  ! 


INDEX 


Abbey,  Henry,  105,  128 

Abell,  Arthur  M.,  266 

Accurci,  44 

Adelaide,  Australia,  250 

Albert,  King  of  Belgium,  recep- 
tion in  New  York,  292 

Anethan,  Baron  d',  Belgian 
ambassador  at  Tokio,  215, 
217 

Artists,  list  of  world's  greatest 
contemporary,  119  ff. 

Australia,  letter  from,  to  La 
Meuse,  184  ff. 

Avins,  Belgium,  birthplace  of 
author's  father,  i 

Baraboedoer     Temple,     Batavia, 

232 
Barnby,  Joseph,  87 
Barnum,  P.  T.,  84 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  122 
Behrens,  Conrad,  97 
Belgian  school  of  violin  playing, 

275  ff. 
Benedict,  Sir  Julius,  84 
Bennett,  James  Gordon,  127 
Bernhardt,  Sarah,  90 
Bisaccia,  97,  99 
Bizet,  71 

Boito,  Arrigo,  86  ff. 
Bottesini,  35 
Bouhy,  Jacques,  71,  73 
Bow,  the,  281 
Brahms,  46 
Biilow,  Hans  von,  103 

"  Carmen,"    opera,    failure    and 

success  of,  71 
Carvalho,  38 
Chapuy,  Mile.,  71,  73 
Christchurch,       New       Zealand, 

169  ff. 
Cockerill,     John,     founds     iron 

works  at  Seraing,  Belgium,  i 


295 


Cockerill,  William,  I 
Columbo,  Ceylon,  252 
Conservatoire  at  Liege,  7 
Coquelin  the  elder,  90 
Cowen,  Fred  H.,  81,  87,  no 
Cramignon,  the,  lo-ii 

Damrosch,  Walter,  no 

de  Belloca,  Anna,  45 

de  Beriot,  Charles,  275,  276 

Del  Puente,  81 

de  Mille,  family  of  author's 
mother,  i 

Depret,  Camille,  62 

Derevis,  Baron,  16 

de  Rosstoff,  Lobanoff,  214 

de  Salas,  Brindis,  65,  66 

de  Try,  Doutrelon,  267 

de  Try,  Eliza,  267 

Dubois,  Theodore,  38 

Dumont  Lamarche  fund  con- 
certs, 265 

Dunedin,  New  Zealand  letter  to 
La  Meuse,  174  ff. 

Dupuis,  Sylvain,  Director  Liege 
Conservatoire,  263 

Duysens,  Joseph,  29,  30 

Faure,  Gabriel,  38,  39 
Faure,  Jean,  51,  54 
Franck,  Cesar,  38,  47 

Galli-Marie,  71,  73 

Ganz,  W.,  82,  83 

German  music  lovers,  118 

Giacomelli,  42,  43 

Godard,  aeronaut,  66  ff. 

Godowski,   100 

Goldmark,  Karl,  46 

Grieves,     Wallace,     in;     letter 

from,  n2ff. 
Guadalajara,  Mexico,   197  ff. 
Guide,  Arthur,  28,  32,  34 


296 


INDEX 


Halansier,  38 

Halevy,  76,  TJ 

Harrison    &    Harrison    concerts, 

91 
Hauk,  Minnie,  ^2,  Tz 
Hauser,  Miska,  46 
Haverly,  Miss,  248,  250 
Hazon,     Director     Philharmonic 

Society  at  Sydney,  248 
Heyman,  Sir  Henry,  140 
Hodges,  Captain,  108 
Hongkong,  China,  222 
Honolulu,    letter    from,    to    La 

Meuse,  142  ff. 

Indianapolis   Star,   article    from, 

117  ff. 
Invercargill,  New  Zealand,  246 
Iron  works  at  Seraing,  Belgium, 

I 
Irving,  Henry,  90,  92 

Jaell,  43 
Japan,  211  ff. 
Java,  230 
Joachim,  60,  61 
Johnston,  R.  E.,  191 

Ketten,  Henry,  51,  52,  53 
Krakatoa,  volcano,  241 
Kreutzer,  Rudolph,  63 
Kurt,  29 

La  Meuse,  letters  to,  142  flf. 
Langtry,  Lillie,  85 
Laub,  Ferdinand,  274 
Leonard,  Henri,  16  ft.,  37,  42,  60, 

61,  260,  267,  271,  273,  276,  278 
Leopold    II    of    Belgium,    letter 

from,  268 
Liege    Conservatoire,    7   et    seq., 

260,  261,  263  ff. 
Lind,  Jenny,  84 
Locatelli,  Pietro,  271,  272 
Lombard,  Louis,  16 

Manila,  225 

Mapleson,  Col.,  58,  80,  86 

Mario,  30 

Mariotti,  29 

Marsick,  Martin,  14-15,  276 


Massart,  Lambert,  63,  64,  276 

Maton,  43 

Mauhin,  Simon,   14 

Maximilian,  Emperor,  207 

Mehul,  Dansoigne,  Director 
Liege   Conservatoire,  263 

Melbourne,  184  ff.,  250 

Mercier,  Cardinal,  reception  for 
Belgians,  in  New  York,  289  ff. 

Mexico,  191  ff. 

Mexico  City,  203  ff. 

Mikado  of  Japan,  private  concert 
before,  215  ff. 

Marimon,  Marie,  43 

Moya,  Anna,  273 

Musin  (Jacques),  father  of  au- 
thor, engineer  at  Seraing  iron 
works,  I  ;  settles  at  Nandrin,  i 

Musin,  Ovide,  birth  and  early 
life,  2  ff. ;  first  lessons  with  the 
violin,  5 ;  examination  for 
Conservatoire  at  Liege,  7 ; 
goes  to  Liege  to  study,  1 1 ; 
prizes  won,  13;  first  appear- 
ance in  public,  18;  at  Ostend, 
20;  an  experience  in  England, 
20  ff. :  anecdotes,  24  ff. ;  con- 
cours  at  the  Conservatoire, 
25  ff.;  concertmaster  at  Os- 
tend, 28 ;  first  hears  Vieux- 
temps,  35 ;  entrance  into  Paris, 
37;  first  engagement  in  Paris, 
41 ;  organizes  "  Quartette 
Moderne,"  45 ;  letter  to,  from 
Saint-Saens,  50;  concert  tour 
with  Jean  Faure,  51 ;  engage- 
ment with  Col.  Mapleson,  58; 
experience  in  a  balloon,  66  ff. ; 
two  disagreeable  experiences, 
68  ff. ;  a  near  fiance,  78 ;  in 
England,  80  ff. ;  Saint-Saens 
composes  concerto  for,  83 ; 
concerts  in  London,  82,  83 ; 
Harrison  &  Harrison  concerts, 
91  ff. ;  member  of  Regency 
club,  92;  in  Scandinavia,  96; 
in  Russia,  99;  concerts  in  Ger- 
many, 103  ff. ;  accepts  engage- 
ment in  New  York,  105 ;  im- 
pressions of  America,  105  ff. ; 
letter  in  N.  Y.  Herald,  Nov.  6, 


INDEX 


297 


1918,  122;  singers  associated 
with  in  the  United  States,  uS; 
article  in  N.  Y.  Tribune,  Oct. 
12,  1913,  130  ff.;  some  odd  ex- 
periences, 137  ff. ;  in  Honolulu, 
141 ;  letters  to  La  Meuse, 
142  ff. ;  concerts  in  New  Zea- 
land, 158  ff.;  a  rough  night  at 
sea,  166  ff. ;  in  Australia, 
184  ff. ;  in  Mexico,  191  ff. ;  in 
Japan,  211  ff.;  plays  before 
Mikado,  215;  in  China,  220  ff. ; 
in  Philippines,  225  ff. ;  Austra- 
lia again,  244  ff. ;  voyage  to 
England  from  Australia, 
252  ff. ;  return  to  Belgium, 
260 ;  Professor  by  "  Arrete 
Royal,"  at  Royal  Conserva- 
tory, Liege,  261 ;  lectures,  264 ; 
violinist  reflections,  271  ff.; 
letter  from  Camille  Saint- 
Saens,  282  ff. ;  appearance  in 
Vienna,  1880,  at  Philharmonic 
Society,  288 

Nandrin,   Belgium,   home   of,    i ; 

birthplace  of  author,  2 
Naples,  Bay  of,  257 
New    York    Tribune,   article    in, 

130  ff. 
New  Zealand,  letter  from,  to  La 

Meuse,  158  ff. 
Nilsson,  Christina,  86  ff. 
Nuno,  James,  204,  205 

Omaru,   New   Zealand,   letter   to 
La  Meuse  from,  168  ff. 

Paganini,  273 

"Pas    Lu "    (Unread),    Club    of 

the,  77 
Patti,  Mme.  Adelina,  89,  91  ff. 
Port  Said,  256 
Pueblo,  Mexico,  205  ff. 
Pugno,  Raoul,  38,  48 

Radoux,  Jean  T.,  Director  Liege 

Conservatoire,  263 
Rangoon,  239 
Redding,  Jos.  D.,  141 
Redewill,  Eugene,  letter  to,  iii 


Regency  Club,  92 

Remy,  Guillaume,  14 

Renard,      Felix,      berceuse      by, 

284  ff. 
Richter,  Hans,  46,  288 
Rinskopf,  Louis,  28 
Ritter,     inventor    of     the    large 

viola,  103 
Rouma,  17 

Rouma,   Auguste,    17,    18 
Royal    Conservatory    at    Liege, 

260,  261,  263  ff. 
Ruben,  Louis,  105 
Rubinstein,  Anton,  90 

Saint-Saens,   38,   50,   83,   88,  89; 

letter  from,  282  ff. 
Samoa,      letter     from,      to     La 

Meuse,  151  ff. 
Sandre,  Gustave,  45 
San  Luis   Potosi,  Mexico,  209 
Sarasate,  90,  274 
Sass,  Marie,  44 
Sassoon,  Sir  Ruben,  85 
Schurz,  Carl,  115 
Seligman,  Alfred,  115 
Sembrich,  Mme.,  128 
Seraing,  Belgium,  iron  works  at, 

I 
Shanghai,  China,  218,  220  ff. 
Siam,  King  and  Queen  of,  239 
Singapore,  China,  227 
Singelee,  28,  29 
Sivori,  Camillo,  273,  274 
Sothrez,  castle  of,  birthplace  of 

author's  mother,  i 
Soubre,  Etienne,  Director  Liege 

Conservatoire,  263 
Steinway,  Wm.,  115 
Stephane  and  the  station  master, 

75,  76 
Strakosch,  Maurice,  44 
Sutton,    Lord,    British   ambassa- 
dor at  Tokio,  218 
Sydney,  Australia,   186  ff. ;  247 

Talmadge,  Rev.  Dr.,  124 
Tartini,  letter  from,  282 
Ten  Commandments  for  aspiring 

violin  students,  278,  279 
Terry,  Ellen,  90 


298 


INDEX 


Thiers,  President,  38 
Thomas,  Theodore,  no 
Thomson,    Cesar,    13,    16-17,   20, 

24,  260,  266,  276 
Titiens,  Theresa,  58,  82 
Tournemont  family,   11 
Trebelli,  87,  97,  98,  99 

"Un  Violoniste  aux  Antipodes" 
(A  Violinist  in  the  Antipo- 
des), letter  to  La  Meuse, 
141  ff. 

Vianesi,  30,  31 
Viardot-Garcia,   Pauline,   37 
Vidor,  38 
Vieuxtemps,  35  ff- ;  271,  274 


Violin,  the,  279 

Wapenhard,  Chevalier  de,  Bel- 
gian consul  at  Yokohama,  213 

Wellington,  letter  to  La  Meuse 
from,  162  ff. 

Wiegand,  August,  187,  247,  248 

Wieniawski,  Henri,  29,  43,  loi, 
271,  274 

William  I,  King  of  the  Nether- 
lands, and  iron  works  at 
Seraing,  Belgium,  i 

Yokohama,  Japan,  212 

Ysaye,  Eugene,  14,  15-16,  29,  32, 

276,  293 
Ysaye,  Theo,  16 


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